Bumblebee's Promise
by Darth Echo
Summary: Before Tyger Pax, Bumblebee meets the fiery Echo. The two get rather…intimate with each other. But when Megatron takes Bumblebee's voice, everything goes downhill. Follow Echo as she attempts to get her mech back, while he struggles to keep his promise. Rated M for language, adult situations, and future chapters. Bumblebee x OC Based off Transformers Prime.
1. A Mother's Sign

Based off Transformers Prime. When Bumblebee meets Echo before the battle of Tyger Pax, he immediately sets his spark out to connect with her before she's taken or shipped out. Follow the two young sparks as they fight in the war side-by-side. Rated M for language, adult situations, and future chapters.

I do not own Transformers Prime or any of the characters, Hasbro does. I do, however, own my OCs: Echo, Artimes, Iodine Maximo, Bluespark, Sonus Prime/Prime, Felidae, Buzzer, Cheapspark, Bumblespark, Soundfire, Cassy, Trucker, and Boomer. Slight crossover with Transformers: Animated, which I also do not own.

*I will post a character guide in the next update :)*

_[text] _=Bumblebee's thoughts/POV's thoughts

"text" =dialogue

*text* =comm. dialogue

**Time**

Nanokilk= 1 second

Cycle= 1 minute

Mega-cycle= 1 hour

Solar cycle= 1 day

Cyber-week= 1 week

Quartex= 1 month

Stellar cycles= 1 year

Vorn= (rounded) 100 years

**Chapter One: A Mother's Sign**

Bumblebee looked down at his hands as he sat on his bunk at the base. _Why am I fighting? _Everyone else had left to go to target and drill practice with the new soldiers. But all Bumblebee wanted was to learn the truth about his past and why he was here. His brother had brought him here many years ago when he was six stellar cycles old, but what happened before that? _Where is my mother? Who am I? _

A knock at the door pulled Bee from his thoughts. "Hello," the Autobot before him greeted. Smiling, Bumblebee stood up and hugged his older brother, Buzzer. "Buzz," he asked in between sobs, "What am I doing here?" Buzzer let go of his younger brother and sat on a bed, patting the space next to him. "Sit," he ordered in his I-need-to-have-a-talk-with-you voice.

"What do you need to know?" Buzz asked, sighing. Bumblebee folded his hands in his lap and hanged his head. "Why am I here?" Buzzer answered for him, looking towards his sibling. Bee sniffed and nodded. "Why did my-," he stopped to glance at his older brother, "our-mother leave me?" The elder mech almost broke down seeing Bumblebee so…depressed. "She didn't," Buzz mumbled, almost not wanting Bee to hear it.

"What?" Bumblebee's sorrow began to turn to confusion and anger. All these stellar cycles and his brother did not tell him the truth? "But you told me that Optimus Prime and Ironhide found me on the streets next to a couple bolts and empty energon cubes."

"Bee," Buzz let down his usual military gruff of calling his younger brother Cadet Bumblebee. He stood up and walked past the rows of empty beds and storage. "She died."

Words could not describe the expression on Bumblebee's face when he processed the information. "Did you just say-"

"I said nothing," Buzzer turned and headed out of the room, leaving the young soldier to mope. Sighing, he let the coolant drain from his eyes, the fluid dripping onto the berth. He began to sob and covered his eyes, wiping the tears away. _Nothing, sure._

"Mom," Bee tried to speak in between sobs, "w-why…a-am I…here?" He looked at the ceiling, hoping to connect with her, even if she really is one with the AllSpark. "Don't you love me?" The tears and hiccups stopped, and anger was sewn onto Bumblebee's faceplates. "Buzz doesn't," he accused, "No one does!"

_Will anyone?_

*Attention!* Bee's comm. almost caused him to jump. *Attention! All Autobots to the mess hall!*

Collecting himself, Bumblebee heading out the door to see what else he would be ordered to do. Dozens of soldiers ran past him, some shoving and pushing Bee out of the way. It didn't help being the smallest bot on base.

As he continued on his way, Bumblebee noticed someone else wasn't running like the others. Dropping his jaw, he stared at the femme. Bee's blue optics widened, looking at the curves and outlines of the black fembot. _A tail?_ The thin, long black appendage flickered when the Autobot stopped, noticing that she was being watched. _Yep, that's hot._ She turned her head to only further discover the features of this girl. Her cat-like ears and fanged smile was like seeing someone else's spark. The more optic-catching feature was her striking blue eyes, looking right at him. _Wait, is she saying something to me?_ Her lips mouthed something, but Bee didn't hear a word she said. _Oh Primus! My mouth is still open and I'm still in dreamland._

"I'm sorry," Bee shyly said, rubbing the back of his neck with his servo. "I didn't hear that last part." He placed his look from her to his feet, not wanting to show her the embarrassment in his optics. The femme only laughed. _Great!_ "Or the part before that," Bee added whilst forcing a small chuckle. "That's okay," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I just wanted to know if you'll walk me to the mess hall." _Did she just ask that?_ Bee's optics widened and looked at her. "I'm new here," she smiled and stepped closer to Bumblebee, raising his levels of nervous to a new record. "Sure," Bee said, smiling as best as he could. "Oh, I'm Echo," she stuck out her servo. "Bumblebee," Bee said, shaking Echo's hand.

Echo nodded for Bumblebee to guide her. "So, when did you get here?" Bee asked, trying to make up for staring at her like a love-struck sparkling. "About two megacycles," the femme angled her head in thought, "though my squad mates got here a few solar cycles ago." Again, she looked at Bee and smiled. He noticed and shied away, turning his attention to the bots running past him. "You don't run?" Echo asked. She looked forwards and seemed hurt for a couple nanokliks. "Not really," Bee sighed, "I don't like to rush." He glanced at Echo with a genuine smile. _Wow, I am not good with femmes._

"Sorry if I'm being too anti-social," Bumblebee surprised himself when he heard the words coming from his mouth. Echo giggled. _Did I say something wrong?_ "No problem," she said, bumping into him when someone shoved past her. Bee bumped back into her on purpose, earning a shy smile from Echo. He smirked at her with a childish look. "What?" Echo nervously laughed, brushing her hairpiece out of her face, turning away from the yellow mech. "I thought I was shy," Bee laughed as they kept walking, getting strange looks from the other Autobots rushing past.

"We're here," Bee stopped and gestured towards the door, opening it for Echo. Before going in, Echo opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. Smiling, she leaned over and gently kissed Bee on the faceplates. "Thanks for showing me around."

"Anytime," Bee said, with a surprised look on his face. _She kissed me!_ Echo walked through the doorway and stopped when Bumblebee called her name. "Would you like to listen to the meeting with me?" he asked while nervously rubbing his neck with his servo. "Yeah," Echo walked back over to Bee. "I would," the two walked over to where Buzzer and the other leaders were giving a lecture.

Bumblebee stopped and looked up at the ceiling. _Thank you, Mom._


	2. Hot Femme Alert!

**Chapter Two: Hot Femme Alert!**

"Alright, sparks," Buzzer stated in his tough mech voice. "You all know why you're here." He searched the group of bots, eventually glancing at his younger brother. "Most of you." Bee looked down at his feet. Echo noticed and nudged him with her elbow. "You okay?" she asked with concern painted on her face. _No, I'm not._ Bumblebee looked up from his feet. _I'm not loved by anyone. _"Yeah, I," Bee stopped, before he would say something, "Never mind." Echo raised a brow and smiled with understanding. "He's your older brother," she said without question. "Yep."

"-and we'll be here on and off until the war is over," the sergeant's loud voice reminded Bee that he should be listening. Though, listening hasn't always been Bee's strongest point. "We'll be pairing you off for practice, and then into groups for the final thing."

Echo nudged Bee again, but this time with her tail…on his hip. What the frag? He turned, but before he or the femme could say anything- "Dismissed!" The swarm of Autobots trying desperately to get out and back to their bunks and activities split the two up. Finally, when most of the bots cleared out, Bumblebee was able to see Echo on the other side of the room, talking with his brother.

As Bee walked up, he heard Buzzer. "Yeah, I'm worried about him," he said with a sigh. "I know what it's like," Echo almost laughed, "I have a younger brother and sister." Buzzer nodded as Bee cleared his throat. "Hey," his older brother said, turning with a greeting smile on his face. "Hi," Bee nodded and faced the fembot. "So, did you want to see anything else on base?" he said with a smile that caused Echo to blush. "Yeah," she looked at Buzzer, "If you don't mind."

Buzzer gestured for the two young bots to continue. "Not a problem at all," he began walking towards a computer to log something. _Yeah, right_. "We can talk about brothers another time." Echo looked to Bee, telling him in her expression that they should go.

"Bye," Buzz said dryly. Bumblebee scowled and gently nudged Echo out of the mess hall, "Bye". Once they were outside in the hall and the doors were closed, the femme immediately turned to the yellow mech and crossed her arms. "So," she leaned against a wall and flicked her tail about, forcing a smile that asked about what just happened. "He's my brother," Bee said, slightly annoyed just by saying the word. "I know," Echo turned and looked at the door, "but…"

Bumblebee raised a brow. "What?" He leaned on the wall opposite her and copied her posture, adding a childish smirk onto it. "What happened?" Echo turned back with her mouth open, exposing her pointed, cat-like fangs. _Primus, why does she have to be so hot?_ "I don't know what you are talking about," Bee rolled his eyes and turned away, trying not to stare at her again. Echo stood up and placed her hands on her hips. _Please, stop being gorgeous_. "Really?" She crossed her arms again and stuck her hip out slightly. _Hot, hot, hot_. "Look, I'm not on good terms with him right now," Bumblebee straightened up and put a hand to his forehead. Echo walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, "What happened?"

All Bumblebee did was look her in the eyes, not daring to tell her the truth. "What _really_ happened?" Echo said, giving him a stern look and leaning towards him that only added to his attraction towards her. _Bumblebee, keep yourself together._ "We fought," Bumblebee said, then looked from side to side, knowing he'll have to give a better answer then that. "About?" Echo loosened up and leaned on the wall next to him. _But she's so hot!_ "Me," Bee sighed and lightly hit the back of his head against the wall, not really wanting to go back to that moment.

"Yeah?" Echo didn't move or look at him. "I have a younger brother." Bumblebee frowned, "I know. I heard you and Buzz talking about me." Now it was Echo's turn to be annoyed. "We were not saying anything bad!" she shouted. Luckily there was no one else in the hallway to hear. _Not like anyone else would care what happens to me_. "And I'm trying to help," Echo said angrily, though she had written on her faceplates. "You know you're cute when you're mad," Again, Bumblebee surprised himself when he spoke.

"Y-You," Echo obviously was surprised as well. Bumblebee kept a calm face, though his eyes betrayed his tough-mech look. "think I'm cute?" Echo blushed slightly and dropped the angry attitude and replaced it with annoyance. "I was telling the truth," Echo crossed her arms and stuck her hip out again. _That's it!_ "I was too," Bee smirked. Again, Echo rolled her eyes and flicked her tail. "About what?"

Bumblebee closed the distance and brought his lips to hers in a small, gentle kiss. When he pulled back, Echo's eyes were wide open and her mouth was slightly parted.

"About you being cute," Bee grinned and leaned back on the wall and folded his servos. _Nailed it!_ Nanokliks went by and Echo still had a shocked look on her face. Then she smirked. "So, can I see the training grounds?" she asked, turning and flicking her tail flirtatiously. Bumblebee rolled his eyes and laughed. "C'mon, Boo."

"Ha-ha," she pretended, "nicknames." _Wait, are nicknames bad?_ "Are nicknames bad?" Bee lost his tough guy I-just-kissed-a-babe voice for a moment. Echo rolled her eyes and followed Bee down the hallways. "How old are you?" she asked out of nowhere. The yellow mech stopped in his tracks and looked at the black fembot. "I was part of the last generation, so I'm probably 22."

Echo ignored the 'probably' in his answer. "You?" Echo looked back. If she told Bee who her mom is, then he would think she is too old for him. "21."

"I got you beat by one," Bumblebee said cockily. _You're over-doing it!_ "Well, let's get on with the tour," he said, giving Echo a nice smile. She stared at him with curiosity. _Who was this boy?_, she thought.

In the empty mess hall, Bumblebee took Echo to the energon supply. "Is that all you guys have?" Echo put a hand on Bumblebee's shoulder. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just tired of all of this."

"The fact that we're the last generation of life doesn't help much," Bee patted her hand, giving it a good squeeze to comfort her. The action got him a warm smile from his companion. _The fact that my mom left me doesn't help either. _

"Uh, did you just," Echo began. _Scrap! I said it out loud!_

Before she could even finish her question, Bee grabbed her hand and walked her down the hallway. "What else do you want to see?" At this point, Echo is smirking and looking at Bee. "Mechs," she mumbled. Bumblebee gave her a look. "I heard that," he bumped into her, getting a small laugh out of her. Echo pushed back, and the two interlocked their servos.

"Got any ideas?" Bumblebee asked, swaying their hands.

Not before giggling, the femme asked, "How about the bunks?"


	3. Character Guide

**Character Guide List *Updated as the story progresses…no spoilers ;)***

**Echo:** Bumblebee's love interest; graduate of the Cyber-Ninja Corps, Autobot Academy, and high-ranking member of Cybertron's Elite Guard. Alternative mode is a black convertible. Echo is the daughter of Solus Prime; sister to Iodine Maximo and Bluespark, also half-sister to Ironhide.

**Iodine Maximo**: Echo's younger brother; graduate from Cybertron's Elite Guard and Autobot Academy. Maximo's alternative mode is a green pickup truck. Son of Solus Prime; brother to Echo and Bluespark; half-brother to Ironhide (best friends with Ironhide).

**Bluespark**: Echo and Maximo's younger sister, and half-sister to Ironhide; drop-out of the Cyber-Ninja Corps. Affiliated with the Decepticons. Alternative mode is a light blue and gray sports car. Daughter of Solus Prime.

**Buzzer**: Bumblebee's older brother; former Autobot Academy drill sergeant. Buzzer took Bumblebee in when Optimus and Ironhide could no longer take care of him.

**Tucker**: Echo's old "childhood friend"; graduate of Cybertron's Elite Guard and Autobot Academy. His alternative mode is an olive sports car.

A/N: The story is slow at first, but kicks up in a few chapters. Reviews are really appreciated! Let me know if I spell any names wrong or if I mess up the continuity :) I want to stick to the story line as much as possible. Also, should my chapters be longer? The next chapter is going to be super long ;) Thanks for reading! -Echobee


	4. Trouble in the Hallway

**A/N: **Sorry, the longer chapter is coming up next. I had to include this piece to keep the story flow going ;) I hope you all enjoy! Again, reviews are greatly appreciated as I really want to know how you all feel about this story. Reminder, I do not own Transformers or its characters. But, I do own my OCs: Echo, Bluespark, Iodine Maximo, and Buzzer. Slight crossover with Transformers: Animated, which I also do not own. Anyways, on with the show!

**Chapter Three: "Trouble" in the Hallway**

"How about the bunks?"

Bumblebee nearly passed out. _What a femme!_ "Uh…" he stared wide eyed at her, not knowing what to say. _Dude, say something!_ Five nanokliks later, Bee looked away and began walking. _You didn't say anything!_ Trying to keep a calm figure, Bee turns to Echo and opens his mouth only to have Echo laugh. "I was kidding," she giggled. Bee sighed in relief. _You blew it!_ Echo let out a smaller, less joyful laugh. _But she's so beautiful._ "Sorry," she said after awhile. "I didn't mean to confuse or scare you," she said, placing her free hand on his shoulder. _We're still holding hands. Yes!_ Bee squeezed her hand affectionately and said, "It was funny, don't worry about it." _Nice one! _

Echo looked down and then back up. "Can I ask you something?" she…asked. "Just did," Bee said with a smirk. "Silly," she lightly punched him with her hand. "But it's kind of important." Bee nodded with an understanding look. "Are you a-"she pretended to cough at the last part. Bumblebee chuckled. "Echo," he said in a husky voice. "Are you a virgin?" she blurted out, quietly. Bumblebee stopped and remembered a fight he had with his brother before.

***Flashback*** Bumblebee was in the mess hall by himself when Buzzer walked in. "What's wrong little brother?" he asked, taking a seat next to him. "Girls hate me," Bee whined like a sparkling. "No matter what I do, they laugh at me and call me a baby." Buzz sighed and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You don't need to think about those things," he said, getting a confused look from the kid he raised since he was only a few stellar cycles old. "Why?" Bumblebee started getting angrier, as he has been for the past few months. "You do," he stood up and stormed off, but not before saying, "You're always getting femmes! And never sticking with them!" Buzzer got up and ran over to his sibling. "Listen," he blocked Bee from leaving the mess. "You are young, I'm sure that fembots will be all over you in a couple years." Bumblebee was still angry and crossed his arms. "At least I'm a virgin," he mumbled. Buzzer finally broke, "That's probably why girls don't like you." After that, he left his younger brother to think only to himself. ***End Flashback* **

"Bumblebee?" Echo waved her hand in front of Bee's face with extreme concern. "Are you okay?" she asked as he looked around frantically. He looked down to see their hands still intertwined. "I was having…a…" Bee couldn't find the word and his faceplates began to turn red. "Flashback," Echo finished for him. "But are you okay?" Bumblebee nodded, though he still looked like he had just woken up from recharge. Echo leaned in and gently kissed Bee on the lips. He placed his servo on Echo's neck and deepened the kiss. Unlocking their hands, Bee placed his other hand on the side of her face. Both had their eyes closed, and kissed gently, as if they had been doing it for vorns. Echo finally placed her hands at the base of Bumblebee's neck.

"Are you two done yet?"

The two Autobots turned to see a light blue and gray femme leaning against the wall across from them, on the verge of laughing. "Bluespark," Echo rolled her eyes and sighed. "Go frag Tucker or something!" Bumblebee turned to Echo with a raised brow. "Well then," he said.

"Do you want me to tell Max about this," Bluespark asked, pointing to the position the two were in at the moment. Echo's ears flattened and she began to growl. "You may want to step back before she snaps your neck," Bluespark laughed. Echo kissed Bee's cheek and then stepped away. "One minute please," she asked politely. Bee nodded and laughed, suspecting what would happen.

"Hey sis," Bluespark said, nervously as Echo approached her. "Don't bring Max into anything," Echo jabbed a finger at Bluespark's chest armor. "You know we all have enough issues as it is." She walked back towards Bumblebee with a genuine smile on her face. "Bye, sis," Bluespark grinned and looked at Bee. "Bye, Echo's new frag friend!"

The yellow mech and the black femme both jumped with shock. "Bluespark!" Echo shouted. "Can I please talk to you, later?" Bluespark crossed her servos and allowed anger to flow onto her faceplates. "Are you sure you don't want to talk now, so you can spend more time with your new boyfriend?" she accused. Echo didn't let the coolant from her optics flow. "Blue," she pleaded. "Why?"

When Bluespark continued to keep her hateful face, a tear left Echo's optic and she wiped it away. "Fine," she sniffed. "Bee," she turned to look at the mech. "Uh, can we go somewhere else. I need to tell you something." Bumblebee grabbed her hand and led the femme towards his bunk room. He hoped that no one-especially Buzzer-was in there.

When the Bumblebee and Echo finally reached the door to the bunk, he stopped and hugged Echo, who was silent the entire way. "It's okay," he said as he felt coolant drip onto his shoulder. "You want to come in?" He gestured towards the door and opened it. Echo nodded and wiped a tear away, "Yeah." She smiled and kissed Bee on the cheek and walked in. "I'm really sor-"

"Echo?" a green mech in the back of the room called out. _Great, now who is this?_ "Hey, Max," Echo smiled and looked back to Bumblebee, who mouthed his confusion. Max glared at the yellow mech."Oh, Max," The green mech looked at the femme and gave her his attention, "This is Bumblebee; Bee, this is my younger brother, Iodine Maximo."


	5. A Son's Promise

**Chapter Four: A Son's Promise **

Bumblebee and Max walked over to shake hands. "Please, call me Max." Bumblebee nodded, "Will do."

"C'mon, why not Mo?" Echo laughed. Max glared at his sister and then looked at Bee. "I hate that name," Max chuckled and took a chest out from under the bed and opened it up. "Good luck," he said, gesturing with his head towards Echo. Echo crossed her servos, made her best pouty face, and sat down on the nearest bed. "Nice try," Max said, placing a couple gadgets and old cyber-ninja weapons into the chest. "You kept those," Echo almost got choked up when she saw her father's old sword. "Of course," he smiled, but sadly. "Uh, Echo should I-" Bumblebee started. "No, don't leave," Echo stood up, "I was just having a-"

"Flashback." Bumblebee said with a smirk. Echo winked at Bee.

"Wait," Max glared at both of the Autobots, standing taller. "Why are the two of you in the bunk room?" Bumblebee slowly shifted over towards Echo. "The _mech_ bunk room," the green mech added, glaring at the two.

_We weren't going to frag! Well…_

"Echo needed help getting over to the mess, so I went to the meeting with her, and decided to give her a tour of base," Bumblebee said, turning to smile at Echo who nodded at her brother.

"Good," he pointed at Bee. "Don't want you two to-"

"Max," Echo warned rolling her optics and shaking her helm, "I'm older than you and Bluespark, and both of you have…fragged." Bee looked at her in shock.

"Not with each other!" Sighing in relief, the yellow mech went and sat on his own bed. "I think," she said, teasingly.

"Plus," Echo went and sat next to Bumblebee, "What if we did come here to frag?" Her brow slowly raised, matched with a devilish grin. Bumblebee crossed his arms and chuckled. Max had a disgusted look on his face. "I'm out of here."

"Wait," Bumblebee said, "Is this your assigned bunk room?" Max nodded. _Well, that's not awkward at all…_

"Don't worry Max, we're not here to frag," Echo sighed. She walked over to her brother. "Where is it?" Max raised a brow and smiled innocently. "What?" Echo grabbed the chest from the bed. "The…echo armor?" Bumblebee giggled. Echo looked up at him from searching the box. "Is that a real thing," he asked in an apologetic tone. "Yep."

"You two have fun," Max headed for the door, "put that back when you're done." Echo smiled and went back to searching when he closed the door. "Did you want to frag?" She jumped, not noticing Bee was sitting on the bed next to her.

"What's your answer?" Echo asked, putting the box down and getting serious. "To what?" Bee sat on the bed opposite so they could talk face to face. "Are you a virgin?" Echo asked again. "Of course," Bumblebee answered. "What do you mean?" she flicked her tail and fixed her ears to him. "Not meaning to be rude, but do I look like a guy that femmes would frag?" Bee said, getting a shocked reaction from the black beauty across him.

_I wish she would…wait, no._ "We shouldn't," Bumblebee said, standing up. "Okay," Echo nodded.

"Sorry," Bee apologized, going to his own bed, putting his face in his servos. I'm so messed up. "Don't be sorry," the fembots said, sitting up next to him, "I can't, anyway." Bumblebee lifted his head up. "Me neither." Echo gave him a curious look.

"Promises?" she implied seriously. "To my mom," Bee looked up at the ceiling. _I love you mom._

***Flashback*** Seven-year-old Bumblebee sat on the only bed in the room. Outside he could hear the explosions and fighting. Buzzer had told him to stay put, that he is far too young to train, and that he would never make it in warfare. "Mom," Bee looked at his ceiling, hoping that she would be there, somewhere, "Why did you leave me?" Outside, dozens of voices called out in agony as the bomb went off.

Bumblebee remembered hearing from a messenger of Sentinel Prime that Cybertron's life force is gone, and that there won't be reinforcements. "I wish I knew you. Or dad." The empty space killed him more than a bullet would have.

"Why did you leave me in an alley to die?" Bee looked back to when Buzzer yelled at him for watching the training exercises, claiming he was something getting in his way. "Why did you leave me with no one who loves me?"

The screams stop, but that only made the coolant run from his optics faster. "Please! Mom! Send me someone who will love me and take care of me!" Silence. "Please!" ***End Flashback***

Echo had coolant in her eyes again. The yellow mech held her and wiped the tears away. "S-She died?" Echo asked. Bee looked her in the eyes and smiled.

The two pulled each other in for what seemed at first like a gentle kiss. When Echo calmed down and stopped crying, Bumblebee kissed her more passionately.

"Wait, how are you such a good kisser?" Echo asked with a smirk. Bumblebee wrapped Echo's legs around his hips and pulled her closer. "Well two things," he replied, getting a stunned gaze. "My brother," Bee stopped at the mention of his sibling. "He brought a lot of girls over into the bunk room, usually when I was here."

***Flashback*** Bumblebee at the age of thirteen, who had just begun minor training, watched as his brother brought in a femme bot, both drunk on oil. They didn't care that he was sitting right there. When Bee tried to leave, Buzz would threaten to take away his training privileges. ***End Flashback* **

"Why would he do that?" Echo became angry. "I know I would never do that to Bluespark." Bee looked away, coolant filling his optics. Echo tilted his face so he would look her in the eyes.

"I bet my older brother would do that," she said, lightly chuckling. The yellow mech's brow raised in confusion. "I thought Max was younger," he said, the tears stopping.

"I have a half-brother," the femme said, re-positioning herself for an explanation. "My sire sparked with another femme when my carrier went into stasis and had Ironhide." Bumblebee's optics widened in shock.

"He and Prime found me when I was a sparkling," he also re-positioned himself so the two could talk. "When I was five, the war was too much, and the two had to give me to Buzzer." Echo nodded her understanding.

"Small world, huh?" the black fembot laughed. "So, why did your mom go into stasis?" Bee tilted his head to the side. "Oh, she was dying," Echo looked down for a bit before continuing, "and she spent her last bit of energy sparking Bluespark, hence her name."

"I'm sorry," the mech took Echo's hand into his own. "If you don't mind me asking," he got a nod of approval from Echo, "why did your sire go to another femme?" The black femme smiled and looked at Max's chest. "My mother asked him too," she turned her gaze back to the yellow mech. "She didn't want him to die from a broken spark."

"Do you know who your mom was?" Bee asked, thinking about his own carrier. "Solus Prime," Echo said, looking at the wall. Bumblebee nearly fell off the berth when his audio receptors processed the words. "You're a daughter of a prime?" he gasped, jaw hanging wide open. Echo nodded and laughed. "Two."

"Two," the mech expressed his confusion, "Two what?" Echo giggled before answering, "I'm the daughter of _two_ primes." Bumblebee sat in shock for what seemed like cycles before he said anything. "Y-You must be," he stuttered, thinking he was in a dream, "the-the legend." Echo looked at Bee with concern.

"Legend?" she asked.

"The Legend of Sonus Prima," the mech looked Echo up and down, "A Cybertronian born from two primes; the new prime who will save his or her people." Then, he got up and looked Echo up and down once more. _By the AllSpark! _

"I've never heard that name before," Echo said in denial, looking away. Bumblebee then crossed his arms and went serious. "You know," he said, glaring down at the femme. "No I don't," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"I know denial when I see it," the yellow bot said, getting annoyed. "Why haven't you been giving the title of Prime yet?" Echo scooted away from Bumblebee and sighed. "I don't want it," she said, thinking of the greatness a bot has to live up to as a prime. "Why not?" Bee softened and sat on the edge of the bed, turning to his friend.

"I don't deserve it," Echo continued, "You know as well as I that you must earn the title of prime." She looked at Bumblebee, "I haven't done anything to earn it."

"Yet," he said, giving her a reassuring smile. "So, what's the echo armor?"

"Something I invented," Echo lied with an obvious expression. Bumblebee looked at her with eyes that could kill. "Fine," she laughed and searched through the chest, "Solus built it for me."

The black femme pulled out a couple pieces of leg armor that had a starry appearance to them. She also pulled out a unique looking gun and attached it to her wrist. "I got my nickname from this."

Aiming at the metal wall on the other side of the room, Echo shot, the laser bullet sending a radio wave off of it, hitting the wall where a sound wave erupted from the blast, causing an echo to ring in the room.

Bumblebee stood in astonishment, not believing what he just saw. "By the AllSpark!" he shouted, "That was awesome!" Echo laughed and lifted her foot up.

As she stomped on the ground, a wave of sound knocked Bee off his feet and onto a bed across the room. "What the frag?" he said as he sat up.

"That," Echo said, her voice echoing throughout the room, another bonus of her armor, "is the echo armor."

The femme put the armor and gun back into Max's chest before sitting on the berth with Bee.

"You know," the femme sighed, "I've only met you-what?-a few mega-cycles ago?" Bumblebee started to feel hurt but did not look away. "So why do I have such a good feeling about you?" Echo placed her hand on his face plates. "Why did I just show up, and bam! I'm whisked off my feet."

"I made a wish to my mom," Bee stated. Echo's mouth was open with curiosity, once again exposing her fangs. _Seriously, how is a mech supposed to just sit here with a gorgeous mouth like that?_ "And a promise."

***Flashback*** Bumblebee hated watching his brother frag all these bots. He was just a teenager, and since Buzz pretty much screwed around with all of the femmes on base, he had no chance.

One day, he talked to his mom. Looking up at the ceiling, he asked for one thing and one thing only. _A chance_.

"Mom, I begged you to bring me someone who will love me. At first, I thought I wanted a mother, but I know that I have one in you. No matter what you did to me, I'm still here. But Buzz has been fra-sorry, interfacing-with all of the femmes on base. Besides, they're all way older than me, and femmes are becoming more rare now that Cybertron is dying. Mom, they're trying to force femmes to reproduce, but that's wrong. Mom, if you give me a femme to love, who will love me back, I will never hurt her or force her to do something she doesn't want to do. Please."

_Love you, Mom._ ***End Flashback* **

"Let's keep it," Echo smiled and moved her servos around Bumblebee's neck. "Let's? As in the two of us?" Bee asked enthusiastic. "Your brother told you that you don't get girls because you are a virgin." Bee nodded and looked down. "You're a virgin," Echo restated. "Echo, I know," Bumblebee started getting frustrated. "And I'm sitting right here," she smirked.

Bee took a few moments, and then looked at the femme. _Wow, I'm a lugnut_. His door wings clamped together in embarrassment at first, but then fluttered a couple times before he gave Echo a peck on the lips. "Let's keep the promise," he said excited.

The two got up, put Max's things back and left the bunk room holding hands, headed for practice.

**Echo's POV**

When the two bots reached the training ground, Buzzer was not happy. The other sergeants were fine with the idea of Bumblebee showing the new girl around. Echo heard a few bots as she and Bee made their way to target practice.

"I bet they fragged", "Why is baby-bot showing her around?", "She has to be the daughter of a prime".

_Wait, what?_ Stopping, the new femme turned to see a pink femme and a royal blue and gold mech talking. "Did one of you say something?" Echo asked politely. I won't be very nice if I find out my siblings told people. "Yeah," the pink femme stood up and grinned.

"You're one of The Three, aren't you?" The mech with her imaged her kindness as well. "You must have me mistaken for someone else."

"We know," the mech said, "We believe in you. You'll make your father proud, Sonus." Echo nodded her thanks, and the two Autobots continued their conversation, while the black femme headed over to where Bumblebee was waiting for her. "Sorry."

"Who were they?" Echo raised a brow. "You don't know?" She face palmed when she realized her mistake.

"I never leave that bunk room," Bee said, sadly. He sighed as he and Echo continued on to the targets. "After today, I don't think I want to." He grabbed her hand and interlocked their fingers before stopping for a klik.

"Promises?" He said, placing his servo over his spark. Echo smiled and placed her servo over her heart. "Promises."

**A/N: Here's the long chapter! I hope you enjoy. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. I do not own TFP or it's characters, but I do own my OCs: Echo, Bluespark, Iodine Maximo, Buzzer, and so on. Once the story has progressed enough and there are more characters, I will post a new character guide. Trust me, there will be a TON of brand new characters and OCs in this fanfic. The next chapter will be very action-packed ;) **


	6. Tyger Pax

**Chapter Five: Tyger Pax**

**Echo's POV**

Two weeks before the battle of Tyger Pax, Optimus Prime enlisted Bumblebee and myself to serve under him because are skills are a major factor that could help us win this war. Bee and I did a few reconnaissance missions. Sneaking aboard the _Nemesis_ and finding out where Megatron was going to hit next. Obviously, we didn't do our job right.

***Flashback* **

**Optimus Prime-*Echo, do you and Bumblebee have the package?***

**Echo-*we do, but it's not in a good condition if you know what I mean, Prime* **

**Bumblebee-*what she means is, there were fifteen guards and we may have had to go through vents and energon tanks* **

**Optimus Prime-*Hurry up, you two. We have 5 cycles before Megatron will notice it's missing***

**Echo & Bumblebee-*Yes, sir* **

Bumblebee turned to Echo. "Got any ideas how to get off the Nemesis while it's still in the air?" he asked. "Like I don't know that the Decepticons make a trip to their bases for energon delivery," Echo teased.

"Echo," Bee said with a serious face. "If they are delivering energon today, then why were all of the tanks empty?" Echo remained flabbergasted for a few nanokliks. "They're probably picking it up then." Bumblebee had a "you really are stupid" face on. "What?"

"They refill on the other side of Cybertron…"

"FRAG!" Echo put her head in her hands. "How did this happen?" Bumblebee put his arm around her and slowly rubbed circles on her back. The past few weeks were rough with no energon, no supplies, and no support.

"Bee, our planet is dying. The Autobots can't get reinforcements now that there's no life. I don't get how the Cons are able to have so many soldiers ready at any time." The femme refused to let coolant build up in her eyes.

"Echo," her mech companion stood up, "this war is going to end, and we'll be there for it." The two Autobots climbed through the vents towards the energon supply room. Stacks and piles of blue cubes filled the room.

"There." Echo pointed towards the yellow platform used to transport to the surface. "We're still in the air," Bee replied. Nodding, Echo back-flipped over a stack and reached the control panel. Around the panel were shards of purple metal. "I bet Megatron was beating one of his soldiers again."

"It's functional during flight," Echo began typing in a code on the data computer next to the panel. "If we launch now, we'll only be 100 feet from the surface," Bee said, pointing to their level on the computer.

"That sounds like fun," Echo said sarcastically, "but it's our only option." Bumblebee hit the down button and extended his servo for Echo to take it. The black femme smiled and grabbed his hand.

The two ran over to the platform. A few nanokliks later, the platform began to descend. "Wait," Bee said, panicking, "This will set an alarm off."

"I took care of that," Echo said, pointed quickly to the data computer, which now had a piece of purple metal sticking into it, sending sparks everywhere. The fembot winked at her partner and the two looked down.

The gray fog of war prevented them from seeing how far they have to go.

"So, how should we jump off of this?" Echo asked. Bumblebee walked around the platform, circling around his femme companion. "Nervous?" she implied.

"Only a lot," Bumblebee brought a hand to his chin. He thought about the options. "We have to look awesome, so," he joked. Then he raised a brow and gave a smirk to Echo. "Back flip shooting at the ground."

Echo laughed, "You know me too well." A beep erupted from the platform and stopped descending. The two bots smiled. "Last one down has to scrub energon tanks for a week!"

Back flipping, the two bots felt the force of air as they fell towards the ground. To the east, there was a battle going on in the nearby city. Both bots were now facing the ground, which was approaching fast. "Ready?" Bumblebee shouted.

"Yep," Echo answered, switching to her gun, letting a rain of blue shots hit the ground, slowing her descent. Bumblebee followed suit. Before they knew it, the bots were somersaulting onto the ground, rolling for a few nanokliks.

"Whoa," Bee panted as he attempted to get up. Echo faced the sky, eyes wide and mouth open in an 'o'. "Oh my Primus," she exhaled. The yellow mech laughed and stood up, offering a hand to the femme. She took it and he pulled her up.

"That _was_ fun," he said, inspecting Echo to make sure she was okay. Her tail flicked as she relaxed. She gave him her best fanged smile. _Primus, she's gorgeous_, Bee thought.

**Optimus Prime-*Bumblebee? Echo?* **

**Bumblebee-*we're on the surface***

**Echo-*where do we go from here, Prime?* **

**OP-*where are you?***

**Bumblebee-*I think Echo and I are outside of Tyger Pax* **

**OP-*that's where we are going, meet me at the coordinates I'm sending you* **

**Echo & Bee-*Yes, sir* **

"Let's go, Boo," Bumblebee joked. Echo shoved his shoulder and transformed, "Alright, scout." The mech transformed and the two raced off to the rendezvous.

Bumblebee and Echo were waiting in an abandoned building for Prime. "Where is he?" Echo sighed. She looked at the chip she and Bee stole from the _Nemesis_. _The data stored on this must be important if Prime wanted us to sneak onto a Con warship_. Bumblebee checked their surroundings through a blast hole in the wall, and then leaned against a wall to stare at the black femme.

"It's been two mega-cycles since we got here," he said, exhaling. He watched as the femme flipped the chip over with a curious look on his face. "He's launching the AllSpark, isn't he?" Echo asked, starting a frown on her faceplates. She leaned on a wall and stuck her hip out, still focused on the data. Her tail tapped the wall as she thought. Echo bit her lip, thinking, her fang making her action seem the more attractive to Bumblebee.

The mech looked away, trying to keep his thoughts on the war. _Don't think about fragging again_. He turned back, with a smile as he looked at Echo. _Remember your promise!_

Echo smirked, but continued looking at the green chip. "I know what you're thinking, mech." Bee raised his brows, but didn't move or say anything. _Frag!_

The black femme bot stopped tapping her tail and looked at him. _He's thinking about it, isn't he?_ She looked back down and sighed, then looked across the room at the door the two came through. _Where's Optimus?_

Bumblebee kept his eyes on her. _Ask her!_ "Echo?" The bot glanced at Bee, "Yeah?" _Play it cool._ _Just ask her!_ The young mech looked at his feet then back up to the femme. "I promised my mom I wouldn't frag a femme unless we were bonded." Echo nodded, "I know."

_Tell her! _

"I was wondering," Bee started with a genuine smile, "if you and I could bond after the war." Echo's expression softened. "Are you," Bee shifted, afraid of rejection, "proposing to me?" She smiled, pleading for an answer.

"I've wanted to for weeks," he said, straightening to walk over. The femme looked away to blink the coolant from her eyes. "I," she said before letting a tear grace her faceplates, "don't know what to say." She put the chip away into the compartment in her wrist.

Bumblebee wrapped a servo around her waist and placed a hand on the side of her head, pulling her into a passionate kiss against the wall.

Cycles went by, and the two heard a throat clear and a knock against the wall. Stopping, they turned around to see Optimus Prime in the doorway. "Am I interrupting something," Prime asked sarcastically as Echo laughed.

"No, Prime," she said, taking the chip out and handing it to the prime. "Good job," he said to the two bots.

"May we know why you need the chip?" Bumblebee asked. Optimus smiled and nodded. "Launch codes for the AllSpark, I must get it off world." Echo pulled a faded smile and nodded while walking back towards Bumblebee.

"You need us to make a distraction, right?" she asked, not looking at the large red and blue mech. _We'll die if we do._ "Yes," Prime said, looking down. He knew that it was a suicide mission. "But you two can do it," he smiled and gestured for the two to follow him. Bumblebee remained silent.

"Bumblebee, you will lead the ground force," Optimus looked to the yellow mech who had a calm look on his faceplates. "Echo," Optimus looked at the femme, "You and your siblings will lead a sniper squad to buy them time." Echo nodded and activated her comm.

***Bluespark, Iodine Maximo, report***

**Bluespark-*Yes, sir* **

**Echo-*Where is Max?***

**Max-*Here, sir* **

**Echo-*both of you report to these coordinates. We're forming a sniper squad***

**Bluespark & Max-*Yes, sir* **

**Echo-*Tucker?***

**Tucker-*Yes, sir?* **

**Echo-*Report to these coordinates; sniper mission***

The comm. fizzled out and Echo didn't hear Tucker's response. "Hopefully he'll show up," she said, kneeling down to pull her extra gun from her back clip. She took the gun apart, and then reconstructed the gun into a sniper rifle.

"I'm good to go," she said to the two mechs waiting for her. Bumblebee checked his weapons and turned to Prime. "Where's the team that we be with me?" Optimus checked his CPU. "They're almost here."

"How many?" Echo asked the leader. When she saw the mech's confusion she added, "How many bots are fighting with Bee?" Optimus looked down with sorrow.

"Twenty," the prime looked at the yellow mech and place a hand on his shoulder. "I am sorry, but we do not have enough free soldiers to fight."

"Don't worry about me, Prime," the yellow bot said, turning to Echo, who was worried. "You either," he said with a smirk. "I will," she replied, checking the charges on her gun.

_Thirty shots_. She thumped her tail on the ground in anger. _Why does he have to do this?_

"Why do we need a distraction?" Echo asked after glaring up at Prime. "I thought this mission would help you know where Megatron would be next, so you could get the AllSpark off world." Optimus looked down again, optics deep in guilt. His normally stiff shoulders slumped and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sonus," he said, not wanting to address her nickname. Echo stood up and hissed at him. "Don't ever call me that again!"

Bumblebee stepped over and grabbed his friend's arm. "Calm down," he said while giving a warning look at Prime.

"Echo," Optimus corrected himself, "we know where Megatron's ship is going-to refill their energon tanks-but not where Megatron himself is." The commander resumed his intimidating stance.

"You really think so?" Echo still glared at the mech. She flicked her tail and hissed again, grabbing her gun. Giving one last look at Bumblebee, the fiery femme slung her gun over her shoulder and walked off to meet her teammates.

"Bumblebee," Optimus Prime snapped the yellow mech from his sorrow, "I never intended for the two of you-"

"Stop there," Bumblebee glared. He pushed past the red and blue mech and blinked his eyes before coolant could fill them. _This is suicide_. "I'm going on the mission." He turned to his leader with serious intention, "but you make sure she survives this." _Because I won't. _

"I will," Prime bowed his head before transforming and then he drove off. Bumblebee watched the black femme walking off in the distance.

_I love you_.

Echo transformed and drove to the east side of Tyger Pax, making her way towards an abandoned skyscraper. Wheel tracks were imprinted among the dust and rubble. The team was already there.

The femme walked into the creaking building, headed for the lift. Once she reached floor twenty of the complex, Echo could hear the sounds of her two siblings arguing.

"Prime is stupid for sending us here," Bluespark shouted. Max sighed and turned to his younger sister, "He's our leader; he knows what he's doing." Tucker rolled his optics and sat down, inspecting his gun.

The mech saw Echo standing at the back of the room and smiled. "Welcome to the Pit," he said, gesturing towards the fight.

Echo laughed dryly and sank to the ground next to her old friend. Her tail went limp and she hit her head against the wall behind her. "They sent Bumble to distract, didn't they?" Tucker asked, not looking at the femme. Echo sighed and nodded. Then she threw her gun across the room.

"Bluespark, you need to focus!" Max yelled at his sister. The blue femme crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "Like we'll be needed!"

Echo looked at her two siblings and gritted her teeth. "Shut the frag up, both of you," she commanded, without much emotion. "Yes, sir," Max looked at his older sister with sympathy. "Bumblebee will be fine," he said, giving an understanding smile.

"No he won't," Echo stated, gritting her teeth once more. Her tail flicked and hit the wall in frustration. "It's a suicide mission." The femme stood up while Max stared at her in compassion. Bluespark smirked at her older sister, her eyes not showing the slightest bit of love or understanding.

"C'mon," Echo ordered, picking her gun up and headed towards the lift.

"Aren't we going to snipe here?" Tucker asked, standing up. Max followed his sister while Bluespark rolled her eyes.

"We're doing this," Echo glared into empty space, "Wrecker style."

Bumblebee crossed his arms as the Autobot force approached. A white and silver mech transformed and approached him. "Silverwing," the yellow mech greeted him. "Sir," Silverwing saluted Bee, "There's no excuse for our late arrival."

Bumblebee unfolded his arms as more bots transformed to greet the scout. "At ease," the scout waited for all of the bots to arrange in a circle around him. "The mission," he said, as he walked around, looking at each Autobot in the optics, "is to provide a distraction for Prime."

One Autobot, an orange and black striped femme, stepped forward to speak. "Sir, permission to speak freely," Bumblebee nodded, but not before saying, "I'm not your leader, Optimus is. So please refer to me as Bumblebee." All of the soldiers nodded in reply.

The femme continued on, "This won't keep Megatron from learning that the AllSpark is off world." Bumblebee stared down at his feet.

"We're not coming back, are we?" A red mech stepped forward, the others looking sorrowfully. "No," Bumblebee walked out of the circle.

"Are you in," the mech turned to his fellow Autobots, determination in his voice and his optics, "or not?" The Autobots transformed into their vehicle modes and shouted, "Yes!" Bumblebee transformed and led the bots towards the center of Tyger Pax.

_For Cybertron!_

Echo, Max, Bluespark, and Tucker stood their ground on the high road in the center of Tyger Pax. From this position, the four could see a Seeker's view in any direction. "They're coming," Tucker pointed to a Decepticon warship headed their way. The squad prepared their weapons and laid low.

"So is Bumblebee," Max gestured towards the group of soldiers driving towards them opposite the warship. Echo's expression hardened, and she scowled. "Let's do this," she said, watching as the Con ship slowed down and descended.

An armada of Seekers lined the top of the ship, with a large, silver mech in front of them. _Megatron_.

"Don't reveal our position unless we need to," Echo ordered, while the other three lowered their weapons, turning their gaze towards the Decepticon warlord. The leader transformed, and his soldiers followed suit.

Meanwhile, the yellow platform Bumblebee and Echo used to escape lowered with a squad of Vehicons. The Seeker armada flew down towards the Autobot force, shooting purple and red lasers.

The Autobots transformed and took cover in the rubble. The Vehicons reached the surface, transformed, and made their way towards their position.

Echo watched as Bumblebee hid behind a broken wall, shooting at the Cons approaching from sky and ground. The other Autobots moved back and forth, taking out multiple Seekers.

Megatron transformed mid-air, landing with a thud that sent dust flying. "Where is Optimus Prime?" the warlord shouted, firing at the Autobots.

Bumblebee frowned and shot at the massive mech. Most of his shots missed, and those that did bounced off of the Decepticon, not even scratching him. Megatron transformed and flew off, heading back towards the warship, leaving his warriors to take out his enemy.

**Optimus Prime-*Bumblebee?***

**Bumblebee-*I hear you, Prime. Megatron is here* **

**Optimus Prime-*I know, keep him busy* **

**Bumblebee-*Yes, sir* **

Bee noticed the warlord returning from the warship cycles later. Transforming, Megatron laughed evilly, shooting a light green Autobot mercilessly in the chest, offlining him in moments. Bumblebee looked towards his fallen brother. _No._

The bots kept fighting, taking out one another. Waves of Cons continued to arrive at Tyger Pax.

"I know the AllSpark is not here, scout," Megatron approached Bumblebee, extending his sword. "Where is it?"

Echo's optics widened and aimed her gun. "Fire at Megatron!" she ordered her team. All four aimed their rifles at the silver mech. Their shots hit Megatron square on the back, grabbing his attention.

"Fliers! Take out the snipers!" he ordered. Seekers pulled themselves from the fight and flew toward the sniper squad. Echo and her team continued to shoot the warlord.

**Echo-*Bumblebee! Run!* **

Bumblebee took the opportunity and drove off past Megatron, the surviving Autobots doing the same. Megatron turned back and laughed. "Starscream," the mech called to his commander, who appeared on top of the warship, moments later. "Bring me the yellow scout."

The Seeker snickered and changed. Diving down, he aimed his missiles at the group. "Say goodbye, Autobots," the commander laughed. The red bombs met their targets, throwing Bumblebee and his team into the air.

Bumblebee landed hard onto a pile of debris. Weak and wounded, the scout's head rolled back, and his optics offlined.

Echo watched as Megatron slowly walked towards the fallen Bumblebee. "No!" she shouted, standing up to transform, hoping to save Bee in time. "Echo, watch out!" her brother yelled as a Seeker flew straight at her, shooting a missile at her feet.

The black femme was launched off the road and high into the air. The explosion from the shot filled Echo's vision with orange fire and black smoke. Her optics offlined as she descended downwards. _Oh no…_

The bot landed and rolled onto the ground in a heap. Nanokliks later, her optics onlined and she rolled onto her back. "Ahhh," she groaned, holding her side as energon slowly dripping from it. _Wait, Bumblebee!_

Looking up, she saw Megatron standing over Bumblebee, making a grab for his throat.

Echo stood up and ran as fast as she could. Slashing Megatron's face with her hands, the mech fell backwards, letting out a monstrous growl. The femme stood protectively over Bumblebee, aiming her built-in guns at the warlord.

Megatron got up and snarled at Echo. "Stand down, femme," he chuckled, holding up his sword, "and I might let you live." Echo did not move, her tail remained high, showing her anger. Laughing, the silver mech raised his servo to finish the fembot off, "Very well."

"Leave her alone!" Echo turned around to see Bumblebee getting up. His chest was near shattered, legs broken in several places, and his left arm was useless. The scout raised his last remaining weapon and aimed it at Megatron, limping in front of Echo.

"The bug lives," Megatron laughed, "But not for long." The mech grabbed Bumblebee's throat and pulled him off the ground. Echo attempted to slash Megatron again, but he merely hit her with his servo, causing her to fly several feet away. Crying out in pain, Echo looked over at the two mechs. She watched as Bumblebee was tortured and interrogated.

"Where is the AllSpark?" the evil gladiator demanded. Bumblebee remained silent and turned away. The silver mech punched the scout in his lower abdomen, causing the bot to sharply inhale from the sting of excruciating pain. "Optimus has taken it. Where is it?"

"I will never tell you," the yellow mech frowned and glared at his enemy.

"I ask you once last time," Megatron said as Seekers landed behind Echo, pointing their guns at her. The femme looked around. Not a single Autobot was fighting. They were either dead or severely wounded. "Where is the AllSpark?"

At that moment, a white blur erupted from behind a building and into space. _The AllSpark._ Echo sighed in relief, knowing the future of the Autobots still had a fighting chance as long as the AllSpark was far from Megatron's reaches.

The warlord roared his anger and turned to Bumblebee. "No!" Echo cried out in horror as Megatron crushed Bumblebee's throat, dropping him. The silver mech then walked away, leaving Bumblebee to die. The scout's optics offlined, and his form went limp. The war of Tyger Pax was over.

"Take her back to the Nemesis," Megatron ordered. The Seekers picked Echo up and dragged her to where a ground-bridge had opened. _Bumblebee, I'm so sorry_.

**A/N: And there's what makes any Bumblebee fan cringe. I know it made me feel sad inside. *Sniff* Just wait until the feels start getting stronger. Primus, help us all! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed. Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Next chapter will be posted within the next few days.**

**Until next time! -Echobee**


	7. Traitor

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. I do, however, own my OCs: Echo, Max, Buzzer, and Bluespark.

**Chapter Six: Traitor**

Echo's optics opened. She found herself in the Decepticon brig. Across the room from her, two Vehicons stood, making sure she didn't escape. Reality and memory hit her, and her optics filled with coolant. The femme felt a sharp pain in her spark, as the realization that Bumblebee was dead took full affect. _This is all my fault_.

The cell doors opened and Starscream walked in with a smirk on his face. Echo was too heartbroken to acknowledge him. "Poor Autobot," the Seeker said, lifting her face with his long finger. "Nowhere to go, nowhere to run." The femme looked away and frowned. Her tail dragged on the floor, expresses the most miserable of emotions. "What do you want?" she asked, voice raspy and cold. Starscream raised a brow and frowned. "Don't tell me," he began, crossing his arms, "you were fond of the bug." The Con's question caused Echo to lash at him in a wave of fiery anger and hatred.

The Vehicons aimed their weapons at Echo, ready to defend their commander. "Lower your weapons," Starscream ordered, having not flinched from Echo's advance. The black femme slumped back down and closed her eyes, looking into the pit of misery.

"Megatron wants to see you," he informed, offering a hand to Echo, whom merely raised an optic ridge and flicked her tail. After a few nanokliks, the Autobot took Starscream's servo. The Decepticon lifted her up and gestured for the guards to escort her. "Why are you being nice?" Echo asked both sarcastically and coldly as the commander led her to the bridge. "You once showed me kindness," the mech replied without emotion, "we're even." Echo stopped and glared at him. "Shooting me off a bridge does not make us even." The Vehicons pushed her forward, "Keep moving."

Once the four reached the bridge, the two guards left. Starscream put cuffs on Echo and nudged her towards Megatron, who was looking out the view of the _Nemesis_. She looked around the bridge, her optics settling on a blue and gray femme. _Bluespark_.

"Ah," Megatron smiled, seeing the femme walking in, "my weapon has arrived."

Optimus Prime sighed as he watched Ratchet work on Bumblebee. It had only been a few cycles since he and the medic had found the scout in a fatal condition. _This is all my fault_. The yellow mech had to have been there for several solar cycles while Prime was hiding the AllSpark. Echo was reported missing along with her sister, Bluespark. There was only five Autobot survivors, including Bumblebee and Echo's brother.

"Optimus do not blame yourself," the medic stated, reading his old friend's mind. The prime sighed and walked over to where Bumblebee was positioned on a berth with an energon line hooked up to him along with vital scanners. "Will he make it?" the large mech asked his officer.

"The odds are stacked against him," Ratchet blinked, "and he has been getting worse every cycle." Optimus nodded and sat down on a nearby berth, rubbing the back of his neck. "Where do you think Echo is?" he asked, forming an idea in his processor. "Dead," Ratchet did not want to believe she was dead. Since Ratchet was the bot who helped deliver Echo, he seemed to be the Autobot who cared about her the most. "She wouldn't be missing if she was alive."

"Megatron might have taken her prisoner," Optimus thought, crossing his servos. "After all, she is extremely important." Ratchet finished repairing Bumblebee's arm and stopped. "I know," he looked at his leader with a sad expression on his faceplates. "Optimus, that's why I'd rather have her die as a warrior, then be used as a weapon in Megatron's hands." Prime mumbled and put his head in his hands. "I need to find her," the red and blue mech stood up and headed out of the medbay. "Please give me updates on Bumblebee." Ratchet nodded and continued working on the scout.

Optimus walked through the halls of the temporary base and arrived at the Command Center. There, he activated a computer and began searching. _I will find you, Sonus_.

Echo stared in shock at Bluespark. "How dare you?" she pounced onto her sister and hissed. Bluespark punched her sibling in the face and pushed her off. Echo back flipped and got her cuffed hands back in front of her. Using her knee, she shattered the cuffs and faced the blue femme. "Traitor," she hissed. With a war cry, both femmes jumped forward, crashing into each other. Echo used her sharp fingers to scratch her sister's face and chest. The blue femme returned by elbowing her in the gut. Stepping backwards, Echo transformed into her vehicle mode and rammed into Bluespark's legs, causing her to fall face first.

"Is that all you got," Bluespark laughed. Echo growled and transformed into her third mode, a lion-like maximal. "Bring it!" she called to her younger sister. The black maximal stepped forward, unleashing a powerful roar that rang throughout the bridge. Bluespark also transformed into a maximal, this time a blue and gray leopard-like cat. Echo's younger sister challenged her with her tail high and a less than powerful growl.

Both maximals charged and went for each other's throats. Bluespark leapt on top of her sister and clamped onto the back of her neck. Standing on her hind legs, Echo fell backwards, crushing her sister under her weight. Whining, Bluespark stepped back and shook her head. Echo took the opportunity to smack Bluespark with her paw, sending the femme spiraling backwards next to Starscream, who stood there and watched.

Standing up, Bluespark roared and ran towards Echo. The black maximal lifted her paw and clawed her sister as she reached her. Energon dripped from the wound on her shoulder. Out of hatred, Bluespark reached up and clawed Echo in the face, causing her to blink rapidly as energon streamed into her vision. "You are weak," Bluespark chuckled as she and her sister circled each other for round two.

"You are a coward," Echo returned, staring into the eyes of the femme she raised since she was a sparkling. "How could you," Echo growled, "after all I've done for you?" Bluespark looked down and then her optics filled with hatred. "You never gave me attention," the blue femme then looked at the Decepticon audience. "Here, I get whatever I want."

Echo's roar caused Starscream and Megatron to cover their audio receptors. The black maximal jumped onto her sister and grabbed her by the neck. The smaller, blue femme cried out from the pain and slowly submitted to her older sister. Once Bluespark was lying on the ground, cringing from waves of pain, Echo let go and walked off towards Megatron.

"Where is this ship headed?" she demanded, growling at the same time. Behind her, Bluespark got up and gradually inched closer to her sister. "You think I will let you go so easily?" Megatron asked then laughed. "Your sparkmate didn't tell me where the AllSpark was, but I know you will." Echo bared her teeth and snarled, "He is _not_ my mate."

"At least not anymore," Echo turned to see Bluespark's paw come after her face. The black femme slammed against the wall from the impact. Her younger sister transformed and walked over to the shaking maximal. Setting her gun to stun, Bluespark aimed at Echo's spark and fired. The black form went limp and her optics offlined.

"Good job," Megatron praised his new soldier. "Now all we have to do is perform a psychic patch."

The data computer beeped when Optimus found Echo's signal. She was moving at a fast pace towards Kaon. _She must be on the warship_. But before Prime could find the coordinates to the warship's specific location, the signal died and the warship disappeared once again. "Frag!" the Autobot leader let out. Heading out of the Command Center, the mech went to give the news to Ratchet. _Echo was still alive_.

Back in the medbay, Ratchet was fixing Bumblebee's broken legs. Overnight, the scout had gotten worse. His vitals were dropping significantly. Even with an energon line hooked up to him all the time, Bumblebee's spark was fading away.

"Ratchet," Optimus greeted his medical officer as he walked in. "How is he?" Ratchet sighed and put down his tools. "Bad," the red and white medic gestured towards the vital scanners and his data visual. "How is that possible?" Optimus referred to the record on Bumblebee's spark. "A broken limb can be fixed easily," the medic stopped and his voice grew quieter, "but a broken spark is not so lucky." Prime deeply exhaled and took a seat on a berth. "Echo is alive," the red and blue mech informed. Ratchet nearly dented Bumblebee when he dropped his tools again. "What?" he gasped.

"She is on the _Nemesis_," Optimus looked up with sorrow, "but her signal disappeared before I could obtain the coordinates." The medic inhaled sharply and rubbed his forehead with his servo. "You need to find her, Optimus."

"I know," the leader said, "I'm going to Kaon."

"The Decepticon Capital?" Ratchet's optics widened. "Optimus," he said, not wanting his leader to put so much at stake. "If I don't two things will happen," the larger mech became serious, standing up, "Echo will be used as a weapon," he paused, not wanting to say the second consequence, "and Bumblebee will die." Ratchet agreed and picked his tools up again. "It's the right thing to do."

"Farewell, old friend," Optimus put a hand on the medic's shoulders, "Take care of Bumblebee." Ratchet nodded, "Good luck." With that, Optimus headed out of the base. Looking at the rubble and fires that surrounded the base, Prime transformed and drove off towards Kaon.


	8. The Nemesis

A/N: Please leave a review and let me know how the story is going, thank you! Enjoy!

**Chapter Seven: The ****_Nemesis_**

"Wake up," said a voice. _That voice is familiar_. A red blur appeared as Echo opened her eyes. A bright light shone into her optics, blinding her. "Don't flinch," the bot said, holding her hands down and securing them. _Wait, I'm being strapped down_. As her vision became more clear, Echo could see the blurry form of the Decepticon medic. _Knock-Out_. "Ugh," Echo moaned and closed her eyes again, not wanting to look into the red optics of the doctor. "Femmes," he muttered, glancing at her now flickering tail. "What an odd appendage," he said, grasping the thin, black limb for a moment. "Let go," Echo demanded, sleepily. Once the red mech let go, she used her tail to smack Knock-Out in the face. "Hey," he gasped, "Watch the finish!"

Smirking, Echo opened her eyes again, trying to get a fix on what was holding her down. Blue restraints tied her servos and her legs to the berth. "Just great," the femme mumbled.

"You know," Knock-Out watched the black female look around the room, "I thought you would be more trouble." Echo snorted and looked at the evil doctor, "I could be." Walking towards the tools on his table, he pointed a flirtatious finger at the Autobot. "Don't tempt me." Echo rolled her eyes and tapped her tail, waiting for the pain to come.

"I might just send you over to Shockwave," Knock-Out sighed, fiddling with a plug of a psychic patch. The black femme on his berth gasped at the mention of the Decepticon scientist. "I was kidding," the medic laughed, enjoying seeing the femme squirm. "As long as you behave, you can stay here," he smirked. "Don't tempt me," Echo returned the humor. Though, she did not believe in bringing herself to be friendly with a Decepticon. "So," the doctor started. _Is he starting a conversation?_ "What's this I hear about you and the scout?"

_Seriously?_ Echo snarled, not wanting to give the Con anything to hurt her with. What's with the Cons getting their noseplates in between my and Bumblebee's business? "He's nothing," she lied, adding a scowl. Knock-Out didn't believe a word. "Fine," he rolled his optics and waved away the lie. "But you know he's probably still online," the red mech leaned against his table, crossing his servos. "I doubt it," Echo said, losing the hateful expression on her face, replacing it with sorrow. "Doubting your sparkmate's endurance," Knock-Out snorted sarcastically, "_nice_."

"I already said," Echo glared at the mech, "he's _not_ my sparkmate." Knock-Out couldn't keep a smirk from forming on his face. "Sure," he said, "Don't worry; I'll keep that secret between you and me." The femme's eyes widened in shock. "Why are you being nice to me?" she asked, tilting her head whilst looking the medic up and down.

"Why not?" he asked, "I hate this job." Echo's optics only widened further, and her jaw opened. "A Decepticon who hates his job," Echo grinned, "Interesting." The red mech frowned. "Don't tell anyone," he walked over to the berth and whispered, "Especially Megatron."

Echo flattened her ears and smirked, "Don't worry; that's between you and me." Knock-Out winked at the femme and walked towards the exit. "Don't go anywhere," he called to her.

"Ha-ha," she pretended to laugh. _That was weird._

Optimus' engines roared as he sped towards the Decepticon capital. Gray clouds covered the sky and lightning struck the highest towers of Kaon. A solar cycle has passed since Prime found Echo's signal headed there. _I hope she's alright_. The commander needed to find the femme before Megatron finds out the information she possesses, or before Bumblebee dies. Above him, the _Nemesis_ appeared from behind the clouds, descending towards Kaon. Hitting his breaks and spinning across the road, Optimus transformed and hid behind a falling building. "I can't let them see me," he said to himself. Looking around, Prime eventually found an entrance to the underground road. There, he could safely travel to the capital without being seen, hopefully. _They might have patrols down there_.

What Optimus met in the tunnels were mounds of debris and fallen soldiers. The overhead lights dimmed on and off. _Well that's creepy_. Looking down the halls, Optimus began climbing over the rubble, determined to reach Echo in time. _This might take awhile_.

Echo watched as the door to the examination room opened, and Knock-Out walked through. "Alright, we're here," he announced. The femme's brow rose, "And where would 'here' be?" The red mech lightly laughed to himself, "Kaon." Echo gasped and attempted to free herself.

"Don't even try, femme," the doctor picked up a psychic patch and walked over to the struggling Autobot. Echo lifted her tail and wedged it between her left foot and the restraint. Pushing and pulling, she wrapped the appendage around it and gave it a good tug. Within moments, the blue restraint broke and Echo's foot was loose. "What?" Knock-Out called out in disbelief, dropping the patch in favor of activating his saw.

The black femme brought her foot up and began kicking the restraint holding her left hand down. _Come on!_ After hitting the cuff five times, her left hand was free, and she activated her gun, aiming at the doctor, who was now inches away. As he lifted his saw, Echo closed an optic and fired, sending the red mech flying across the room. He hit the wall and fell down into recharge.

"Finally," Echo said, using her strong hands to pull her right servo free. Bending down, she used her fangs to bite off the last restraint. Since the doctor had not called for security, the femme had the element of surprise. Activating the data computer, Echo searched for their current coordinates. _Kaon_.

"There's a series of tunnels underneath," she mumbled to herself. Looking back at the knocked out Knock-Out, the femme smiled and headed for the door.

Outside, there were no Cons in sight. Three hallways stood before Echo, who knew that all three would eventually lead to the energon supply room, where the Decepticons must be refueling the ship. _Might as well head that way_. Transforming into her maximal form, Echo charged down the hallway to her right, hoping it didn't take her the long way.

Optimus finally reach the intersection below Kaon. The tunnel then split into two paths. Down the left path, the overhead lights did not flicker, yet on the right, they were still dimming. "Hmm," the large mech expelled. Activating his left gun and his right sword, the Autobot leader went to the left.

Once he reached the corner, the mech peeked from behind it, only to see a data computer at the very end of the narrow hallway. _I guess I went the right way_. Prime continued walking, keeping his gun up, prepared to take out any surprises.

As Optimus walked up to the computer, he saw a blimp on the screen. "The warship docked," he said, deactivating his sword to access the computer. Hacking into the Decepticon security system, he found a route to the warship. _I only have to pass through thirty levels of security… that should be easy…not_. Sighing, the mech followed the hallway to the right now, towards the lower-level lift.

After a few cycles of roaming the halls, Echo began to doubt the situation. _Where are all the Cons?_ Slowing to a stop, the Autobot decided to take to the vents, in case she ran into her enemy on the way to the loading bay. Looking around, the femme found the entrance to the ground-level vents. Ripping the cover off, Echo crawled inside, turned around, and replaced the cover so no one would know where she is.

The dark and humid vents creaked under her paws. Every now and then, the maximal would pass by a vent, creeping bit by bit so she is not seen or heard. When she turned around a corner and came to a dead end, she had no choice but to push through the opening. Hoping to find another series of tunnels, or the entrance to the hangar, Echo peeked behind a pillar and gazed down the hallway to her left. Three Vehicons were having a conversation at the end of the hallway. _Frag!_

The black femme looked to her right and saw a closed door. Jumping to the control panel, which was behind a pillar on the other side of the hallway, Echo was able to fool the guards who merely continued their talk, not having noticed her. With a sigh of relief, Echo inspected the control panel and hit a button with her paw. The doors slowly opened, and the Vehicons stopped and glanced over at the sound.

Deciding to pull a distraction, Echo scrolled through the panel until she found the button to open a door down another hallway. Doing so, the Cons turned their heads away and peeked down an intersection. Taking the opportunity, Echo raced through the still open door and stopped when she saw she had reached the energon supply room.

A Decepticon Seeker walked by, caring a stack of energon cubes. Since he could not see past the stack, the black maximal was able to creep and hide behind a larger mound of energon. The Con walked past her, placed the stack down, and then headed for the yellow platform at the center of the room. Other bots were doing the same. _They're refueling the ship!_

Behind the rows and rows of energon cubes, narrow paths lead to the platform. There, Cons were placing empty cubes to be disposed of. Taking the chance to escape, Echo slithered down the path and waited for the Con controlling the platform to turn his back. Once he did, the femme crawled underneath the panel and jumped onto the platform, behind a stack of empty cubes.

"Good to go, X90," A Vehicon called to the Seeker at the control panel. Nodding, the Con activated the platform's descent. Echo sighed in relief, but gasped when she saw she was now headed towards a loading dock. And on the dock stood the warlord. _Megatron_.


	9. Escaping Kaon

**Chapter Eight: Escaping Kaon**

"Take the cubes to the incinerator," commanded Megatron. Echo flinched as Cons walked up as the platform dropped off the cubes and then went back up to the Nemesis. Megatron turned around and began walking towards the lift on the other end of the platform. _Phew!_ The femme looked around and weighed her options. Either she could make a jump for it and attempt to climb her way down, or she could wait till Megatron left and bolt for the next lift.

"Lord Megatron," the warlord's comm. beeped, "The prisoner has escaped." Growling, Megatron headed back towards the cubes. Echo made her decision as the Cons began taking the stacks. Taking a deep breath, the maximal sprinted from behind the cubes.

Running between Megatron's legs, the femme headed towards a massive pillar below the dock. "Capture her!" the silver mech ordered. Before the Cons could react, Echo jumped off the platform. Landing with her front paws, she pushed off with her hind legs, aiming for a slope carved into the building.

Sliding down, the femme looked over her shoulder and saw the Seekers transforming and heading towards her. Red shots hit the metal wall above her. _I need to move_. Echo leapt off the slope and onto a statue of a gladiator. She climbed down onto his shoulder, and then across his outstretched servo. An outlook jetted out, giving Echo some cover from the Seekers, who were still shooting her.

Jumping onto the outlook, Echo heard Megatron's growl of frustration. Inside the room the balcony lead to, three Vehicons operated a massive computer. "Stop the femme!" Megatron's voice ran through the communication system. Five purple soldiers ran through an opening door, pointing their weapons at Echo.

"Frag," the black Autobot burst out. Extending her claws, Echo pounced onto an armed Con, digging into his chest while clamping onto his neck with her jaws. Energon spilled as he screamed in agony. Another Vehicon shot Echo's hind leg, earning a roar of pain from the femme.

Leaving the dying bot, Echo moved onto the Decepticon who shot at her. He screamed as he saw her fangs coming for his neck.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Optimus found a lift at the end of the hallway. Entering the elevator, he pushed the "up" button, a deep groan escaping his throat.

"Attention all Decepticons! Bring me the Autobot prisoner known as Echo, alive!" Megatron's voice came from the speakers on the ceiling of the lift.

_Oh no_. "Echo!" Optimus exclaimed. Standing up in a combat position, Prime aimed his guns, expecting the worse when the lift doors opened. Instead, he found a group of slain Vehicons and Seekers across the hallway. "By the AllSpark," he said, looking at the torn throats and clawed chests.

A trail of energon led through the halls. Optimus decided to follow it, hoping it led to Echo.

Echo hid behind a pillar. A trail of her energon followed her. She transformed back into her normal form, clutching her hip. The pain from her bleeding wound almost blinded her. Remembering the vents, the femme peeked around the wall, looking for another entrance.

A square ventilation shaft was jutting out from the ceiling. "Oh frag it," Echo activated her gun and shot the cover. The blast set a string of alarms off in the hallway. Running over to the hole, the black Autobot jumped up and grabbed the lip of the opening. Pulling herself in, she grunted in pain as her leg rubbed against the hard metal.

A squad of Decepticons ran across the hallway, not noticing the hole in the ceiling. "Thank Primus," the femme exhaled, leaning against the rather large vent. Echo gritted her teeth and thumped her tail. _I need to get to the courtyard_. Being on the upper levels, Echo had a long way to go. Crawling through the vents, the fembot headed for the nearest command room.

Prime crept through the hallways, following the bright blue energon trail. Very soon, the trail stopped. Frowning, Optimus looked where the trail ended. _Behind a pillar_. Shards of metal crunched under the prime's feet as he walked unknowingly past the hole in the ceiling.

He back traced, looking up. Seeing the blasted vent, the red and blue mech rolled his eyes and stomped his foot. "Great," he mumbled to himself.

Thinking, Optimus headed towards the data computer on the other side of the hallway. The former archivist searched through the computer, finding a way to the courtyard. _That's where Echo would go_.

Behind him, a group of Vehicons rounded the corner. "Surrender, Autobot!" they demanded, raising their guns. Optimus smirked under his mask and spun around, shooting at the Cons. Within moments, the whole squad was down in a pile. "Less messy," he said to himself, thinking back to the open throats with energon spilling from them.

The prime ran down an intersection, determined to find Echo before the Cons got to her first.

Echo stopped over an opening, two Cons were talking in a control room below her. "A group last saw her in hallway 3224." Sighing in relief that they had not found her hiding place, the femme continued to eavesdrop. "Optimus Prime was spotted in the next intersection," the other Con said, causing Echo to gasp.

Glancing up, the Vehicons saw the black femme jumping towards them, transforming into her maximal form. Nanokliks later, both were unconscious. "Glad I didn't murder you in cold blood," she shivered, looking at the data computer.

"Optimus," Echo deeply exhaled and rolled her eyes. Flicking her tail, she thought for a moment. Then, the Autobot accessed the computer, searching for the route to the courtyard. "He knows I'm going there," Echo laughed, memorizing the path she needed to take.

Pressing a button, the control room's doors opened and a group of Decepticons peeked in. "Excuse me," Echo called, jumping through the crowd. Sprinting and panting, Echo smiled at the Cons, who turned around and started firing at her. But by the time their shots were fired, the maximal had already rounded the corner.

Echo pressed hard on her heels and paws, racing past the halls. At each corner and intersection, she slid on her limbs, slowing down before speeding up again down the next corridor. Before she knew it, she was on the upper levels of the courtyard. In the courtyard, squadrons of Decepticon soldiers were lined up in front of a massive statue of Megatron.

Glancing around, Echo spotted a red and blue mech hiding behind a smaller statue of a Decepticon. _Optimus_.

The femme raced down the circling path towards a staircase out of view of the Cons. Sneaking down the metal steps, the black maximal crept towards Prime, who had not noticed her yet. "Prime," Echo whispered, once she had gotten within thirty feet of the mech.

Optimus spun around and almost gasped at her form. "What happened?" he asked, glaring at the wounded femme. Echo transformed into her normal form and almost fell. Prime walked over and picked her up bridal style. "Nothing," the fembot grimaced from pain.

"We need to leave immediately," Prime hid behind the statue again. "Do you know where the underground tunnels are?" the femme in his arms asked. The leader nodded, and he gestured towards the door.

"Alright," Echo jumped out of Prime's arms and transformed into her vehicle mode, "let's go." Optimus transformed and drove through the door, causing metal and sparks to fly everywhere. The Vehicons in the courtyard instantaneously turned to them and began chasing the two.

Both Autobots chuckled as the enemy attempted to shoot the expert drivers. Swerving back and forth, Optimus and Echo made their way to a lift. Transforming, they got into the elevator and shut the doors. Prime hit the down button and watched as Echo slowly slid down the wall, groaning in pain.

"Echo," he exclaimed in concern, "What happened back there?" Smiling, Echo sat up and changed into her maximal form. "You mean this?" The femme looked down in shame.

"I didn't mean to kill them like that," she said, coolant filling her optics. Prime sat down and held the femme while she cried. "I know," he cooed. "You need to get back to base," Prime said after a few nanokliks, "Bumblebee needs you." Echo's cries immediately stopped and her optics widened in shock. "He lives?"

The red and blue mech nodded and got up as the lift doors opened. "But he's dying from a broken spark."

Echo glared into the underground hallway, determination filling her expression as she got up. The femme sped forward, jumping onto and climbing over each mound of debris. Once she reached the surface, Echo soared into the air and transformed into her vehicle mode. Hitting the maximum, she sped down the road, away from Kaon.

_I'm coming, Bumblebee. _

Ratchet was rubbing the back of his neck, watching as Bumblebee slowly drifted away. His spark was at the verge of going still, and the scout's processor was barely functioning. Megatron had ripped out his voice box when he crushed his throat, causing the medic to have no choice but to give the small yellow bot bleeps as a form of communication. How Bumblebee would cope with such an appendage, Ratchet did not know.

When the old medic began to lose hope of ever saving Bumblebee, the sound of an engine filled his audio receptor. Looking up, he saw a black car speeding towards the medbay. Echo transformed and knelt down onto the floor, gasping from pain. "Echo!" As Ratchet went over to the femme, the vital scanners attached to Bumblebee beeped.


	10. You Don't Remember

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. I do however, own my OCs: Echo, Bluespark, Iodine Maximo, and Buzzer...oh Silverwing & Jetwing, too ;)

Enjoy!

**Chapter Nine: You Don't Remember**

"By the AllSpark!" the red and white mech exclaimed. Bumblebee's spark began beating faster. "Echo, look," the femme stared up at her partner's rising levels. "Bumblebee," she whimpered, standing up with the help of Ratchet. Echo's eyes filled with coolant as she looked down at the crumbled form of her Bumblebee. When the fembot grabbed his hand in affection, the yellow mech's processor activity rose.

"That's not possible," Optimus said as he walked into the medbay. His mask was off, exposing his hanging jaw. "They're not even bonded," Ratchet stated, in shock as well. Echo lightly laughed, though on the inside, she replayed the moment Bumblebee proposed over and over. _I don't know about that, Ratch_.

Echo smiled as the coolant freely flowed from her optics. "I thought you died," she whispered as if he was awake to hear it. Ratchet smiled along with Prime. "It's a miracle," the medic stated, walking over to read the scanners. "If Bumblebee's progress keeps up like this, he should wake up tomorrow morning."

No one could help but feel joy in their spark as they saw Echo's happiness. "Promises," she said, putting her free hand over her spark.

The next morning, Echo woke up from recharge at the edge of Bumblebee's berth. Yawning, femme looked at the vital scanners, reminding herself that this wasn't a dream. "He'll wake up any minute now," Ratchet said, startling her.

"I hope so," Echo's ears pointed towards the computer when it beeped. Bumblebee's spark was now beating at a normal pace. "You really love him," Ratchet surprised Echo, "don't you?" Echo lightly laughed and looked down. "I do," she said. The femme looked at Ratchet. "Did Solus love Nexus?" Echo frowned, tears threatened to fall from her optics.

"Your mother loved your sire with all her spark," Ratchet said, putting his hand on Echo's knee, sitting in a chair next to her. "She knew that if Nexus didn't find another sparkmate, he would die from a broken spark." The medic sighed and looked at Bumblebee. "I know that you and Bumblebee would ask the same," he said, patting Echo on the shoulder.

Echo wiped away her tears, smiling. "I'm glad he's alive," she said, playing with her tail. As if on cue, Bumblebee moaned. "Bee?" Echo exclaimed as she and Ratchet headed over to the waking mech.

"Ugh," Bumblebee's optics onlined and he stared at the ceiling. He glanced around, not moving. When he saw Ratchet's face, he slightly smiled. "Hey, Ratch", Bumblebee beeped. When he heard beeps instead of his own voice, he panicked and looked around seeing the black femme smiling at him. "Uh, hi", he said, raising an optic ridge.

Echo frowned and looked at Ratchet, who looked confused. Echo let her frown turn to concern. "How are you feeling?" The yellow mech looked her up and down and calmed down. "I'm good. Have we met?" he chirped and bleeped.

Ratchet's optics widened and he began pushing the frozen Echo out of the room. "Could you go get Bumblebee some energon?" he asked as Echo's face faltered. She nodded and continued walking out of the room towards the mess hall. _Am I dying?_

"Who was that?" Bumblebee bleeped, trying to move his servos. Ratchet stopped him and looked at him with his usual frown. "You don't remember?" he gritted his teeth. Bumblebee shook his helm and frowned. "I don't remember her," the yellow mech looked in the direction that the femme had left, "She's really pretty, though."

Ratchet huffed and disconnected the vital scanners from Bumblebee's chest. "She's my assistant," Bumblebee nodded, able to move the rest of his body. "Since when?" Bee chirped, looking back at the ceiling. "She's, uh, new," Ratchet said, pretending to work on his data pad.

"Cool," Bumblebee beeped, "I can't move my body." Ratchet looked at him, "Nerve damage." The yellow scout groaned. "You'll need therapy for that," Ratchet smirked, "I'll have Echo help you with that."

The smaller mech brightened up. "Awesome," he chirped, "I mean, uh, sure." The young mech's reaction caused the old medic to raise an optic ridge.

Echo walked into the medbay with three energon cubes in her arms. Setting two of them down on a nearby berth, the femme headed towards Bumblebee with a calm look on her face, though she did not look for too long, else she would break down. "Here," she said, placing the energon on the bedside table.

"I can't use my arms," Bumblebee buzzed to her. The black fembot looked at Ratchet for guidance. All the medic did was gesture towards the damaged Autobot. "You'll need to help him regain the ability to move." Echo breathed out coldly and rolled her optics. _This is just a terrible nightmare. I'll wake up soon_. "Fine."

Sitting on the edge of the berth, the femme crossed her arms and received a look from her old friend. "Well, put your training to use," the medic said with a wink. The bot then left the medbay, humming. Echo turned around caught Bumblebee staring at her like a love-struck sparkling.

"Alright," she said as the mech turned away in embarrassment. "I have no idea what I'm doing." When Bumblebee looked back at the femme, he tilted his head. "Ratch said you're his assistant," he beeped. Echo slowly nodded, "Yeah." _This dream is getting weirder_.

"He said my, uh," Bumblebee looked down at his servo. "You can't move, can you?" Echo asked, looking away.

"Nope," Bee chirped. The yellow bot tried to move is arm, but could only rotate his helm. "Here," Echo leaned over and lifted Bumblebee's servo, slowly. The gentle movement sent pain shooting through Bee's arm. _Okay, is this a dream?_ The mech grunted in pain and Echo stopped, "It's going to hurt."

"I know," Bumblebee bleeped.

Ratchet walked back into the room with an energon cube. "I already got you one," Echo pointed towards the other energon cubes. The medic laughed and walked over to his computer. "What?" Echo snapped. Bumblebee looked back and forth between the two. _What's their problem? _

"I'd think you two are going to need extra energon," the old bot said with a hint of mischief. Echo only thumped her tail on the berth in frustration. Bumblebee glanced at the appendage and raised an optic ridge. The femme continued to flick her tail. "Very funny, Ratchet," she huffed. "What?" Ratchet asked, all too innocent.

"You know I have no idea how to help him," Echo gestured with her servo to the yellow mech, who was still staring at her tail. _Why haven't I woken up yet?_ "Echo, you do," the red and white mech turned serious, which furthered Echo's anger.

"You have a tail?" Bee asked. His question caused the fighting mech and femme to glance at him. "Yeah," Echo said grimly as she moved her tail off the berth, hidden from Bee's view with a cold glare. _You two are messing with me, aren't you?_ The young mech looked hurt and turned away. Ratchet frowned at the fiery femme.

"Echo, read this," her old friend handed her his data pad. The black femme glanced at the screen, which detailed neuropathy. _Frag, this can't be a dream_. "Come back when you've cooled off." Echo sighed and turned to Bumblebee. "Bye," she said, more caring this time. "Oh, uh, bye!" he beeped back, blushing red.

"What was that about?" Bumblebee chirped to Ratchet. The medic looked on as Echo walked out of the medbay. "She's been going through hard times," the old bot went over to his computer and researched the requirements of being a Cybertronian nurse. _Echo will need this_.

"I hope she's okay," the young mech looked where the femme was once sitting. _Who was she?_

**A/N: I was considering adding two chapters at a time. Since I had two ready, I thought I would post them while I could. Let me know if I should stick to that or something else. Thanks for reading! -Echobee **


	11. Neuropathy?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. I do however own my OCs: Echo, Bluespark, Iodine Maximo, Silverwing, and Jetwing.**

A/N: Okay, so this chapter gets a little, well, _touchy_. Enjoy! Please review and let me know if future chapters should be more "touchy" like this ;) On with the show!

**Chapter 10: Neuropathy?**

Echo sat in her assigned quarters, reading the article on neuropathy that Ratchet gave to her. "This is going to take awhile," she huffed, closing her optics and leaning her head against the bed. "Why is this happening?"

Just then, someone knocked on the door. "Come in," Echo sighed, tucking her hairpiece out of her face. The door to her room opened and an orange and black femme walked in. "Hi," the Autobot greeted. She walked over to Echo and handed her an energon cube. "Hello," Echo smiled and took the cube, "thank you."

"My name is Jetwing," the femme looked around, obviously feeling awkward. "Ratchet sent me to give you that. He said you would probably be up for awhile." Echo chuckled and nodded, holding up the data pad. "Yep," she tapped the screen, bookmarking the page she was on, "just studying neuropathy."

The orange femme titled her helm and then smiled. "Oh, are you a nurse?" Echo shook her head, smiling. "Nope, but I want to help Ratchet with his new patient." Jetwing's optic widened, "You mean the scout?"

"Yeah," Echo looked around her room and saw a chair by her computer. "Oh, please, sit down." Jetwing smiled and brought the chair closer to the bed, sitting down. "Thanks," she replied, "so, is he going to be okay?"

Echo looked down and slightly grinned, "I don't know." As Jetwing's expression grew more gloomy, Echo shot up, "Oh, he's fine. But he can't move because of nerve damage. Thus, neuropathy." Jetwing nodded and smiled at the data pad.

"You were really brave," the orange femme surprised Echo, who raised an optic ridge. "I saw you defending the yellow mech against Megatron." The black femme exhaled and gritted her teeth before turning back to Jetwing. "Thank you," she said, giving her a sincere smile, "Sorry, I'm still a little shaken up, you know?" The orange femme nodded. "I know what you mean," Jetwing looked at the door and stood up. "I have to go, but it was nice meeting you."

"Thank you for bringing the energon," Echo said, reactivating her data pad. "Let me know if you need anything else," Jetwing smiled and headed across the room to the door, leaving. "I know that I need Bumblebee back," Echo sighed after the femme left, coolant forming in her eyes. "Neuropathy?" she smirked, continuing to read the article. "Hmph."

Bumblebee watched sleepily as Echo walked into the medbay, reading a data pad. The femme looked over at the yellow mech, whose optics fixated on her, looking her up and down. Giving a slight smile, the Autobot walked over to Ratchet's work station; the mech was nowhere in sight. "Where's the old bot?" she asked, placing his data pad on his desk.

"Did you talk to _me_?" Bee chirped innocently. He slowly turned his head to look at Echo. The femme chuckled and nodded. "I did," she walked over and sat on the edge of Bee's berth. "Well, I read up on neuropathy. Now we can work on getting you back up." Bumblebee beeped in response and closed his optics. "What do we do first?" he asked, looking at the ceiling with impatience.

"Ha, slow down there," Echo laughed, then frowned, "it's going to take a long time." She thumped her tail onto the berth, remembering how cold she was yesterday. "Sorry I was so rude yesterday," she apologized, flicking her tail in shame. Bumblebee shook his helm, "Don't worry about it." The yellow mech looked at her with sympathy, "Ratchet told me you've been going through hard times." Echo's optics widened and she looked at the mech with despair, "He told you?" Bee nodded, giving her an understanding buzz.

Changing her mood, the femme decided to get going with the therapy. She placed a comforting hand on Bumblebee's shoulder. "Okay," she said, breathing out while taking back her hand, "can you feel or move anything?" Bumblebee looked up, thinking, and attempted to move something. _Uh, I can feel something…_ The yellow mech looked up, not wanting to tell the black beauty what he could feel. One of Bee's fingers twitched. _Thank, Primus!_ "I can move my fingers," he chirped, excited, "kind of."

Echo grinned and lightly tapped his fingers. "Can you feel that?" Bumblebee nodded, feeling a very faint vibration from his servo. "Good, but we have a long way to go," the black femme commented. "Since you have control over your head, we'll work our way down."

Bumblebee's optics widened. _All the way down?_

Ratchet walked in on the two Autobots in the medbay. _They've been working for days_. "How's the progress?" the old bot asked, startling the young mech and femme. "Fine, Ratch," Echo smiled, pointing to Bumblebee's now moving fingers. "Good, good," Ratchet continued walking towards his work station and computer. "I'll need your help with fixing his gears, though."

The fiery femme turned around, an optic ridge raised, "Excuse me?" Bumblebee looked at the old mech with shock. "Uh…" he buzzed, his faceplates turning red. "You heard me," the red and white mech chuckled. "I already have too much on my servos in the field."

"Okay, Ratch," Echo sighed, not wanting to spend her nights studying again. "Don't blame me if I accidentally cut something," the femme stopped, turning around in time to see the yellow mech protest with a loud chirp. "I was kidding." Bee beeped with relief.

"Let's just see how long it takes for you to recover," Ratchet said, pointing a wrench in the young mech's direction. "Echo, you've been here for hours." Echo shrugged and thumped her tail, which caught the attention of Bumblebee once more. "I like helping," she said, glancing at her fallen partner, who was now staring at her aft. "Eyes front, soldier." The commanding tone in Echo's voice produced an expression on Bumblebee's face that sent the femme into a fit of giggles.

Looking away, blushing, Bumblebee shyly beeped, "I wasn't doing anything." The black femme got off the medical berth and grabbed Ratchet's data pad. "Hey," the old rust bucket exclaimed. "If I'm going to be in his gears, I need to do research." Bumblebee's faceplates could not turn any redder at this point. "Delete my search history when you're done with that," the medic waved the femme off, going back to his work.

Echo looked back at Bee, who was so abashed that he didn't even glance in her direction. "See you tomorrow morning, scout," she said, leaving the medbay. "You're welcome," Ratchet chuffed, giving the yellow bot a mischievous look. "What?" the scout snapped, glaring at the medic, "I'm not thanking you for embarrassing me in front of a femme!"

"Hey, you are the one who got caught staring at her aft!" the red and white bot stood up for himself. Bumblebee chuckled with a buzz. "I was admiring her femme curves!" he rolled his optics and looked away. "Just wait till she's all over you tomorrow," Ratchet mumbled to himself, though not quiet enough. "Huh?" Bee bleeped, "you think a femme like _that_ would be turned on by a filthy scout like me?"

"Well, she didn't slap you when you were staring at her interface the other day," Ratchet smirked and put down his work, crossing his servos. "You better not be setting me up with her," Bumblebee chipped, "She's obviously been with other mechs; she's experienced and I'm not."

"Echo?" Ratchet lifted an optic ridge, "She's never even seen an interface panel, let alone…" the medic stopped their and gulped. Bumblebee buzzed sarcastically. "Sure," he said just as the femme in question walked back into the room. "Grabbed the wrong data pad," Echo glared at the medic, pointing towards a stack of data pads underneath his work station. "Unfortunately, I'll have to study those." Bumblebee swallowed hard and looked away from the femme, afraid he would get caught looking at something that had to do with those "special" data pads. Giving in, the yellow mech stared at Echo's curves while she waited for Ratchet to search through the pile. _Nice aft, strong curves and an attractive interface panel_. _This is all too much_. Bumblebee felt his mech-hood heat up. His cooling fans kicked on, grabbing Echo's attention. The scout looked away, pretending that he hadn't just given the femme a checklist on her features.

Echo smirked and turned back to Ratchet, who handed her a silver data pad. "Don't need to delete the history on that," he rolled his optics, "but don't spend all night looking at the pictures." Bumblebee almost purged his tanks, but played his motion of with a pretend cough.

"Calm down, mech," the femme walked out of the medbay, "I'm not that rough."

The next day, Echo woke up on her berth, the data pad she borrowed from Ratchet in her lap. "Ugh," she said, throwing the fragging thing across the room. _Disgusting_. The "nurse-in-training" got up and stretched. She sighed as joints loosened and her aching back subsided. "Now, let's get our hands into Bumblebee," she joked to herself, honestly hating Ratchet for assigning her such a personal and intimate job. _This is why I became a warrior and not a nurse_.

Just as the femme walked up to her door, a knock came from the other side. Echo opened the door to see Jetwing. "Hi," Jetwing said, smiling, "I wanted to check up on you." The black femme grinned and walked out of the room, closing the door. "I'm great; thank you," her tail flicked as the two bots walked together down the hallway, "and you?"

Jetwing smirked, "Good. How about you and the scout?" Echo laughed and rolled her optics. "Childish as usual," the femme looked back to catching the bot staring at her features on more than one occasion. "Let me guess," the orange and black femme gritted her teeth in amusement, "you caught the poor mech staring at your aft?" Echo tilted her head and nodded. "Interface?" Jetwing's optics narrowed at her own question. "Maybe," Echo's lip plates pressed into a thin line as she looked over as she bashed.

As the two reached the medbay, Echo turned to the Autobot and exhaled. "Wish me luck," she glanced over her shoulder at the door. "Good luck with your mech," Jetwing waved as she walked away.

"Hey Bee," Echo said as she walked into the medbay. The yellow mech, who looked as if he hadn't gotten any sleep, looked over at her, slight fear twinkling in his optics. "Hi," he chirped like a little youngling. "Alright," Ratchet looked Echo up and down, "where's my data pad?" Grunting Echo rolled her optics. "I might just keep it," she said with a smirk. Ratchet glared at her and aimed the wrench in his hand at her helm. "Okay, I forgot it."

Bumblebee buzzed with laughter, seeing the two bicker. "Zip it scout," the medic snapped at him, "or I'll have Echo give you a physical and a transfluid test!" Bumblebee's optics widened and he leaned his head back, pretending he hadn't heard that.

"Whoa!" Echo cried out, bearing her teeth at the medic. "He's due for a cleaning," the old bot shrugged. "TMI, Ratch!" the nurse said, covering her cat-like ears. She looked back at the yellow mech, who was red with pure embarrassment. "No thank you," Echo said, blinking and turning away for the same reasons. "You're getting into his gears, might as well," Ratchet mumbled to himself. The black femme hissed at the medic and flicked her tail.

Bumblebee looked up at the femme. _Why are femmes so sexy when they're angry?_ Echo huffed and sat down on the edge of the berth, lip plates now forming a pout. _Babe, you're lucky I can't move_. "Fine, Ratch," the fembot raised her hands, surrendering. "Alright," Ratchet nodded to the scout, "Get to it." The femme rolled her optics and rested her hands on her hip, cocking them out.

Echo adjusted the light above Bumblebee and aimed it at his abdomen and chest. Accidentally pushing it too far, the light blinded Bumblebee for a moment. "Sorry," she said, moving the light again. "Bumblebee, if you're nervous, just play music," the medic called to the yellow mech. Echo raised an optic ridge, pausing as she grabbed a brush. "Hush, Ratch," Bumblebee glared at doctor. "You listen to music when you're nervous?" Echo asked, calm written on her faceplates. "Yeah," Bumblebee answered bashfully.

"I'll leave if you want to play your rather," Ratchet stopped, getting a warning glance from Echo, "_personal_ music." Bumblebee shook his helm, gesturing with his helm towards the black femme currently twitching her tail subconsciously. Echo's brow lowered into a frown as she tried to work the control panel on the berth, to no avail. "I'll be too busy to listen," she reassured the mech. "It's okay," Bumblebee chirped, exhaling.

"I'm leaving anyways," the medic pressed a button on his computer as he left. Nanokliks later, music that would otherwise be used for romance began playing. Echo dropped the brush she was holding and Bumblebee froze, horrified. "Ratchet!" Echo screamed, causing an echo (no pun…) to ring throughout the medbay. "Yes?" the medic walked back into the medbay. Echo picked up his favorite wrench and threw it at the bot's helm. "Turn it off!"

"You know how to shut it off," the medic walked in anyways. "I'm busy," Echo said, leaning over Bumblebee, grabbing a bottle of lubricant. "I can see that," Ratchet gestured towards Echo's current position over the scout and chuckled. Just then, an 'Ow!' and a whistle played from the soundtrack, making Echo shy away from humiliation. Bumblebee curled his working fingers into a fist, trying not to pass out from embarrassment. "Fine," Ratchet stated, turning the music off. Instead he replaced the track with hip hop. _Explicit_ hip hop.

Both embarrassed and angry, Echo back flipped and transformed into her vehicle mode, speeding out of the medbay. "Thanks a lot," Bumblebee mumbled. "You were complaining, too," the red and white bot huffed, turning the music off. Then he smirked and crossed his servos, "I thought you didn't want her in your gears."

"Are you kidding me?" Bee snapped, "What self-respecting mech wouldn't want a femme like _that_ underneath him on his berth?" The scout stopped, realizing he said too much. "I knew it," Ratchet shook his helm and went back to his work station. "Well, looks like therapy is cancelled for tomorrow."


	12. You Almost Died

**Chapter 11: You Almost Died**

The fiery femme sped down the halls as fast as she could, swerving around and through groups of fellow Autobots. When she reached her quarters, Echo opened the door and let it close behind her. The black Autobot then slowly slid down the door, leaning her helm backwards, not letting coolant fill her angered eyes. _How could he not remember?_

Echo had done her best to keep her emotions intact, but failed all too easy. _I should have tried harder to save you._ The femme looked back, remembering the broken, scarred form of Bumblebee, her friend, her partner. _Bumblebee was too sweet, too innocent. It should've happened to me._ The coolant freely flowed from Echo's optics. _I should be the one on the berth, suffering. _

She attempted to focus her thoughts on other things. _I'm going to kill Ratchet when I get the chance._ The femme slightly smirked, hit her head against the door, and rolled her optics. _Poor Bee, getting stuck with a stupid femme like me._ The data pad a few feet away from the Autobot grew more and more revolting by the cycle. _Did the old mech want Bee and I to frag or something? Not like we could…_

The femme thought back to training with Bumblebee back on base. The way he showed off his mechness and body. His guns smoked after each shot, and his optics glowed with determination. Echo remembers staring at his, well, more mech-features. The bot had thick, strong legs and powerful servos to match. As Bee ran in the opposite direction, the femme had a nice view of his backside. _Well built aft…_ Echo smacked herself, trying to focus on something else, but she found herself thinking about Bumblebee's backside again. _Those muscles…_ His yellow body was now decorated with ash and scraps. Turning to face his partner, Bumblebee failed to notice the femme's approval. Glancing down, Echo began inspecting his _lower_ half. The young mech had a significantly larger interface panel than most his age. _Nice genes…_ Bee walked towards Echo, waving a servo in front of her face, not knowing what she was staring at.

"Echo?" A familiar voice came from the other side of the door. _Jetwing_. "Give me a nanoklik," the black femme stood up and wiped her tears away, waiting for her cooling fans to turn off. Opening the door, Echo met a rather happy femme. "Come in," Echo gestured for the orange and black Autobot to sit down. "And, may I ask, why are you so happy?"

"Haven't you heard?" Jetwing asked with a giant grin on her faceplates, "Optimus is planning an evacuation." Echo's optics widened and she backed up. "No," she blinked her optics and slapped herself to make sure she hadn't fallen into another nightmare. "We can't leave Cybertron!" The other Autobot placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "We have to." The black femme exhaled and smiled at Jetwing. "I know, but," her thoughts went straight to Bumblebee, "how will we get Bumblebee off-world?"

Jetwing smirked and crossed her arms. "The evacuation won't happen for a few months, but he'll be fine by then." Stepping into the room, she grabbed a chair and sat down, pulling another chair in front of her for Echo to sit. "I didn't know nurses cared so much about their patients."

Echo chuffed and sat in the chair, "I don't. Well, I did." She looked at Jetwing with sorrow. "I can't anymore," the femme sighed, touching her forehead with two fingers. "And why not?" Jetwing leaned towards her friend and placed a hand on her knee cap. "He forgot," when the orange femme's brow raised, Echo continued, "it's a long story, but when Megatron ripped out Bumblebee's voice box, he managed to damage his processor. He forgot that we had even met." Jetwing gasped and her optics widened. "But he remembers Ratchet?"

The black femme nodded and blinked her optics, refusing to cry. "He remembers everyone but me." Jetwing smiled and shook her head, "Well, he's known others longer, so he might just not remember things up to a certain point. Ask him if he remembers what happened at Tyger Pax."

"Ratchet and I told him," Echo looked at the other femme, giving her a thanking smile. "But not everything," Jetwing added, brow rising. "No, that would be too awkward," Echo paused, remembering Bumblebee asking her to bond. "Oh, and what did you not tell him?" the orange femme asked mischievously. Echo sighed and looked down and her feet, "That we sneaked onto the Nemesis, escaped, and then kissed outside of Tyger Pax." The black femme did not dare to say what else happened. "And?"

_Frag! _

"He proposed," Echo said after a few kliks, needing to get it out of her system, "sort of." Jetwing gasped and sat straight up, "I'm so sorry." The black femme was now crying, not able to hold it back any longer. "You need to tell him," Jetwing said after rubbing her face with both of her servos. "Not now," Echo said, "not ever."

"Why not?" the black fembot looked at Ratchet's data pad and then at her hands. "I don't want to hurt him." Before Jetwing could say anything, Echo's comm. alerted her.

**Ratchet-*Echo?***

**Echo-*Yes?***

**Ratchet-*I need you to report to the medical bay.* **

Echo grunted.**  
Echo-*Why?* **

**Ratchet-*I'm too busy and someone needs to help Bumblebee* **

**Echo-*Get Red Alert to do it* **

**Ratchet-*Why are you so intolerable about helping him?* **

**Echo-*I'll tell you later. I'm on my way* **

Jetwing stood up and replaced the chair. "Good luck," she said, waiting for Echo to get up as well. "Thanks," she paused, "I'll need it."

"I'm here," the black femme greeted with a smile, stepping into the medbay. Bumblebee was sitting up on the berth, flexing his hands and servos, stretching gears and making sure everything was working. "Whoa, how did you?" Echo stuttered, shocked. "Well, if you had done what I asked, you would have found a disconnected cable in Bumblebee's neck." The femme nodded, looking down in shame. "Sorry," she finally said, giving the yellow scout and apologetic smile. He waved the apology off, "It's okay." The shy mech rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, becoming more nervous since the femme walked in.

"He still needs help with his legs, they're weak," Ratchet said over his shoulder, working on his computer. "Okay," the black femme's ears pricked up in a happy mood. "So, how are you feeling?" she asked Bumblebee, sitting on the berth next to him. Giving her a "really?" look, the mech chirped, "Like scrap." Echo laughed and thumped her tail onto the berth. As usual, Bumblebee couldn't keep his optics off of it. "That's normal," keeping calm, the femme continued, "but can you feel anything in your lower half." The yellow mech held back a mischievous smirk. _I will if you keep up being so fragging gorgeous_. "Nope," he beeped.

"Well then," the femme tapped his knee, sighing, "We still have a lot to do." Ratchet turned to the two and frowned. "Where's my data pad?" Echo rolled her optics and groaned. "Forgot it," she glared at the medic, not faltering as the two stared down at each other. "Pit-spawned nurse you are," the red and white bot mumbled to himself. "Calm down, Ratch," the yellow mech spoke up, "she'll get it the next time she goes to her room, I'm sure."

Ratchet grumbled, "Not if she's going to be a full-time nurse like you asked." Echo raised an optic ridge and stared at the scout. "A what?" Bumblebee's faceplates turned red and he looked away, pretending to flex his servo. "A full-time nurse," the medic answered for him, "You'll keep helping him until he can walk again, and then you'll be following him around for the next few months until I give him the thumbs up." The black femme stared at the old bot with her jaw hanging open. Bumblebee glanced at her, only to look away, hurt. "But, I," Echo was interrupted by Ratchet's tone, "Yip-yip," he said, whilst shaking a finger at her. "No 'buts'."

"If she doesn't want to do it, I can get another nurse," Bumblebee chirped sadly. Ratchet shook his helm and crossed his servos. "No, because they are needed on the field and elsewhere," the old medic looked at Echo and frowned, "You do not have field training, and Optimus approved." The fembot rolled her optics and thumped her tail in frustration.

"Indeed I did," all three bots turned to see their leader walking into the medbay. "Good to see you gaining your strength back," Prime nodded to Bumblebee, who was looking down at his feet in discontent. "I need someone to take care of Bumblebee," Optimus pleaded to Echo. "Can I have a word with you?" The femme responded. The mighty mech smiled and gestured for Echo to lead the way. Standing up, Echo gave a glance towards the gloomy Bumblebee. She flicked her tail, which tapped the young warrior on his calf, capturing his attention. Deciding to give the mech assurance, she gave him a warm smile, earning the same from him.

The fembot and the prime stepped out of the medbay. Echo crossed her arms and glared at the mech, looking him up and down. "Do you know that he is suffering from amnesia?" the femme finally asked. Optimus nodded his helm, "Ratchet informed me." The black Autobot banged her tail against the wall of the medbay. "He forgot everything that happened in the past 'who-knows-how-long?'. Most likely, he forgot a vorn's worth."

"Every battle?" Prime's eyes widened in shock. Echo nodded and slumped her shoulders, "Every battle, every person he met, and everything he did." Coolant began to form in the stubborn femme's eyes, who pushed them away with a few blinks of her optics. "But we did show him a record of the basics of what he missed out," Optimus sighed in relief at hearing Echo's words. "So, um," the prime vented, cheekplates beginning to turn red, "does he remember what went on between the two of you?" Echo's crumbling expression answered the question for her. "That's why I can't be his nurse," she said, gazing back at the medbay doors. Optimus pulled the heartbroken femme into a gentle embrace. After a few nanokliks, Echo returned the hug, letting her tears flow down her face.

Prime then released her and lifted her face with his thumb and forefinger. "I'm planning the Exodus." Echo wiped the coolant away and stepped back, sniffling. "I know," she crossed her arms again, closing herself off from the mech. "And I want you and Bumblebee to come with me to Earth."

Echo stumbled backwards, optics wide open in disbelief. "That's why I told you," the prime continued, "I need someone to take care of Bumblebee." The black femme closed her optics and made fists with her hands. "Optimus," she pleaded, "you know I can't."

"And why would that be, femme?" he asked, regaining his gruff tone, "You know him better than any other. You two have spent the past vorn together." Echo sighed and rolled her optics, "Yeah that was before he changed." Prime narrowed his optics at her, disappointed in her ignorance. "He is still the same mech," the large, red and blue mech turned to the side, keeping his gaze on his soldier. "You have a few months to think about it." With that, Optimus Prime walked down the hallway.

"I will," the femme mumbled to herself, walking back into the medbay.

A few weeks later, Echo was able to help Bumblebee gain enough strength to sit on the edge of his berth. "You should help him take a bath," Ratchet's noseplates twitched, "He could use it." Bumblebee chirped and hung his head in embarrassment. "You, too," Echo flicked her tail at the medic, turning to Bee. "For the record, you don't smell that bad," the yellow bot looked up and smiled with his optics, though Echo wished she could see his real smile. Ratchet had repaired the broken cords and cables in the scout's neck, and attached a retractable mouthpiece onto his faceplate, covering his lip plates.

"Thanks," he beeped shyly. On top of keeping a watch on Bumblebee most of the day, Echo had also become more friendly with the mech, although she did not know if she trusted herself to even be friends with the mech again.

"Well, I'm going to assist Red Alert near Iacon," he waved a wrench at the two, threatening to hit them with it, "so behave. I should be back in a few days." Echo raised her brow and frowned. "How am I going to help Bumblebee, and any bots who need medical help on base?" she demanded. The old medic chuckled and put the wrench down. "Most of the Autobots here are shipping out with me. Besides, I have a list of doctors you can call in an emergency." Ratchet pointed to his computer where, as stated, was a long list of Autobot medics and nurses that were still online. Hopefully they stay that way in case I need them. Echo nodded and got up from the berth.

She and the medic hugged for a few nanokliks. "Thank you," she smiled as the medic headed towards the door. When he was gone, Echo twitched her tail and sat back down on the berth, placing her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. The femme sighed deeply and groaned. "It'll be okay," Bumblebee buzzed and chirped, rubbing her back in lazy circles. Echo was glad he had regained the strength in his hands and arms, for the comfort was relieving. "I hope so," she said as she sat up. The yellow mech kept his hand placed on her back, leaning towards her with a concerned expression. "Alright," Echo tapped the scout's knee, "did you feel that?" Bumblebee nodded. "Barely," he added with a bleep. "Try to flex your legs while I tell you something." The scout obeyed while staring at Echo, giving her his full attention.

"Ratchet and I told you that your voice was damaged in battle," the yellow mech nodded, looking down, wishing he still had his voice, "but we didn't tell you how or why." Bumblebee stopped his attempts at flexing his legs and looked at the female with confusion. "You almost died," Echo said, gazing at him with regretful and depressing optics. Bumblebee buzzed, asking her to continue. "You were distracting Megatron while Optimus launched the AllSpark off-world. Because you refused to tell Megatron where the AllSpark was, he crushed your throat and ripped out your voice box." Echo's eyes filled with coolant and she looked away, too afraid to concern the sweet mech with her emotions. "Ratchet found you dying and voiceless after Megatron left you there."

"What happened to you?" Bumblebee placed his servo around Echo's waist, attempting to comfort her. "What do you mean?" she asked, wiping away her tears once again. "Ratchet said you were going through hard times, so if you don't mind me asking, what happened?" he asked kindly. Echo sat and thought about her answer for a few nanokliks, looking around the room. _Don't tell him, it'll freak him out_. "I lost a partner," she replied, keeping the truth half-hidden. "I'm sorry," the yellow bot offered her a hug, to which she accepted. Echo wrapped her servos lightly around Bumblebee's neck, while he in turn placed his around her abdomen, giving her a tender squeeze. The mech rubbed her back and soothed her as she calmed down. _I wish this could last forever_. "Thank you," she sniffed, pulling away from the hug.

"Anytime," Bumblebee said before lightly coughing, turning back to flexing his legs. "So," he started, rubbing a servo at the back of his neck. _He does that a lot_. Echo smiled and swayed her tail back and forth on the berth, smiling. _He must be really nervous_. "Ratch said you'll be walking soon," she said, leaning back onto her hands. "Hopefully," the mech chirped. Continuing to smile, the femme looked at her old partner, who was too busy trying to move his legs to see her staring at him. _Maybe, just maybe_.


	13. I Won't Come Back

**Chapter 12: I Won't Come Back**

Ratchet walked into the medbay having returned from assisting Red Alert. Echo was typing on his computer, searching metal burn. The medic looked around and noticed a white and silver mech sitting on one of the many berths. Echo turned around and smiled at Ratchet before looking at the other mech. "I'll have to go get the equipment to fix that," she said, giving him a warm smile. "Welcome back," the femme looked at Ratchet and gestured for him to return to his work station. "Metal burn," Echo announced, pointing towards the orange and black burn on the silver mech's servo and leg. "Ah, Silverwing," Ratchet greeted the mech, "good to see you again." Silverwing nodded and grinned.

"Where's Bumblebee?" the medic began to panic, not seeing the yellow bot in the medbay. "He got sick and had to purge his tanks," the femme pointed towards the restroom in the far corner of the room. "He walked?" Echo smiled and nodded, "Well, not fully. I had to help him, but he started moving his legs today." Ratchet raised an optic ridge. _He shouldn't be moving this soon._ Echo sighed and rolled her eyes, "Okay, he didn't want to purge all over the floor, but he did put in some effort to walk there."

The old medic shook his helm and went over to his work station. "I'll take over for Silverwing," he paused, giving Echo a mischievous look, "So you get back to your scout." Echo hissed and narrowed her optics. "I heard that," a bleep came from across the room. Bumblebee walked out of the bathroom, holding his abdomen with a servo. The black femme jogged over to him and supported his weight. "Silverwing, can I get a hand?" The silver mech stood up and used his good arm to lift Bumblebee up. He and Echo helped the yellow scout over to his berth and set him down. "Thanks," the femme smiled at Silverwing as he sat back down. Bumblebee moaned and offlined his optics. Echo placed a hand on his chest, "What's wrong?"

The yellow mech grunted as he sat up. "I feel like I'm on fire," he chirped and buzzed. Echo saw the pain in his eyes and her faceplates formed a frown. She looked at the medic, "What do you think is wrong?" Ratchet shrugged and looked at the sick bot. "He's probably coming down with something."

Echo placed a servo on Bumblebee's back, comforting him as he bleeped in pain. "Don't worry," the medic smiled towards Bee, "You'll be feeling better in a little bit."

**Optimus Prime-*Echo?* **

**Echo-*Yes?* **

**Optimus Prime-*I need you to report to the Command Center immediately* **

**Echo-*Yes, sir. I'm on my way.* **

Echo turned to Bumblebee and slowly pushed him down on the berth. "Recharge while I'm gone, okay?" The yellow mech didn't have to be told twice. He went down and offlined his optics and fell into recharge. The femme walked off, headed out of the medbay. "Echo," Ratchet faced his young friend and gave her a warning look, "You make the right choice."

"I will," she nodded and left the room. As she walked down the hallways, random Autobots gave her appraising looks. Confused, Echo pulled one over and gave him a curious look. "Hey, Sharpeye," the tri-color mech smiled at her. "Hey, Echo, need something?" The black femme nodded and glanced at an Autobot who gave her an appraising look. "Why are they all staring at me like that?" she began to panic inside. _What the frag is going on?_ "Well, because of Optimus," the mech raised an optic brow as if the answer should have been obvious. "Uh, excuse me?" Echo's optics widened and she raised her tail in alarm. "He wants you to go to Earth with him," Sharpeye looked the femme up and down, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Fine, never better," Echo raised a brow and looked away, "but why are they looking at me like that?" Sharpeye chuckled at the ignorant femme. "Only his best and brightest warrior would be chosen to go with him." Echo froze and then looked at Sharpeye with a frown. "No, he asked me to take care of Bumblebee." Sharpeye smirked and began to walk away. "Or, is Bumblebee going to take care of you?" the mech smiled and left Echo.

Storming into the Command Center, Echo looked around for Prime. No one but the big red and blue mech was in the room. "Prime!" she shouted, and stalked over to him with her tail raised high. "Did you ask me to come with you just to help Bumblebee, or did you ask me to come because you wanted me there?" Optimus raised an optic ridge. "You graduated from the Autobot Academy, Cyber-Ninja Corps, and you are on your way to becoming an honorary member of Cybertron's Elite Guard, so why wouldn't I choose you to come with me?" the mech crossed his servos and fully faced the angry femme. "And why are you so mad about this?"

"You played with my emotions," Echo shouted in the tongue of the primes, shocking Optimus, "You tempted me with 'Oh, you can help me care for the scout'." Prime stood amazed. "How do you know the language of the primes?" he asked, speaking in the language as well. "I was raised by a prime, Optimus," she replied in regular Cybertronian dialect. "Never mind that," Echo brought a hand to her forehead.

"Echo, I had no intentions of ruining anything between you and Bumblebee," the mech placed a friendly servo on her shoulder. "I need my strongest warriors to go with me. And Bumblebee needs your help right now, and as long as I have both of you, I know the Autobots still have a fighting chance."

Echo nodded and leaned against the giant computer next to Optimus. "I can't go," she surprised the prime before her. "I can keep my emotions bottled up for a short time," she paused, "but it's not long before I break and hurt Bee." Prime sighed and crossed his servos again. "How about this," he got the attention of the female, "I will take Bumblebee to Earth when the Exodus takes place, and you go with your brother." Echo raised her optic ridge and placed her hands on her hips. "In a couple years, I will contact you and see if you are ready to join us on Earth, okay?" The femme thought for a couple moments and then nodded, "That seems fair enough."

"But you must keep Bumblebee safe," she pointed her finger at the prime, "or else." Optimus stood tall and glared at Echo, "Or else what?" The femme flicked her tail and walked off, "I won't come back." Optimus remained still, though keeping his gaze on the smaller Autobot. "To what?"

"Helping you."

Bumblebee sat up as Silverwing left the medbay. "Thanks again, Ratch," the silver mech thanked, steeping out of the room. "Make sure you don't get into trouble again," the medic laughed. "Where's Echo?" Bumblebee asked, not paying attention to Silverwing. Ratchet huffed and looked at the young bot. "Who wants to know?" he asked with a smirk. "I do," Bumblebee sat and flexed his legs, wincing from pain. "She's probably still talking to Optimus," the old bot then picked up a data pad to record the time Bee woke up. "Okay," the scout said with a hint of suspicion.

"Why did you want her as a full-time nurse?" Ratchet set the data pad down and leaned against a berth. "I-I don't know," Bee beeped, shaking his helm in denial. Ratchet growled, and narrowed his optics. "Ugh, fine," the yellow bot rolled his eyes, "I had a good feeling about her and I want to get to know her."

"By having her help you with everything," Ratchet smirked, "including bathing and checkups?" Bumblebee rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, I didn't think that through all the way." The medic lowered his smile and returned to his tense look. "I hope that _feeling_ you have about her is being her friend, not what's between your thighs," Ratchet crossed his servos and glared at the smaller mech. "No, no, no!" Bumblebee waved his hands in surrender, "I just thought she would be a nice femme to get to know. I would never think about hurting her or trying to just get _that_ from her." Ratchet nodded and walked over to his work station. "Good," he grumbled. "Why do you care so much about her?" Bumblebee asked with good intention. "I've known her, her whole life. I was the medic who delivered her," Ratchet answered without looking at Bumblebee.

"Okay, at first I thought you were her dad," the yellow mech placed his hands on his thighs, sighing in relief. "In a way, I am," Ratchet looked over his shoulder and gave a warning glance towards his patient, "so don't do anything stupid." Bumblebee chirped in response as an angry Echo walked into the medbay.

"He wants me to go to Earth with him," she said to Ratchet. Bumblebee looked her up and down. _Anyway Ratch, I'd be too nervous to interface with her_._ 'Cause I don't know how!_ "You don't have to if you don't want to," the young scout buzzed and looked at Echo with kind eyes. Seeing how hurt Bumblebee was on the inside, Echo felt a sharp pain in her spark, knowing that it was her fault he felt that way. "I want to go," she smiled, "but just not yet." The femme sat next to her yellow partner and made herself comfortable. "I told him that I would contact you two in a few years and I might join you if I am ready," she stared at him, asking in her optics if the agreement seemed fair. Bumblebee's optics rotated and expressed hurt for barely a nanoklik, and then he nodded and looked at his feet, continuing to move them. "Okay," Echo said, although she felt immensely guilty for deciding to leave him for so long. She flicked her tail and got off the berth.

"Don't worry, you two still have a couple months before you say goodbye," Ratchet said to the two of them, though pointed more towards Bumblebee. The scout in question beeped with fake excitement that only Echo heard. _Then years apart from each other. Sure, that's fair, Echo_. Bumblebee glared at the ground and lowered his optic ridges into a frown. _Wait, why do I care so much? Whenever she looks sad or angry, my spark feels the same way_. Echo grabbed a data pad from a shelf on Ratchet's work station. "In the meantime, we need to get you walking," she said, turning the device on and scrolled through articles. _Maybe then I can start bathing._ Bumblebee watched the femme reading while she bit her lip. _Do full-time nurses help bathe? I'd like that!_ "Stop!" Bumblebee beeped and smacked himself. Both Ratchet and Echo looked up with an optic ridge raised. "You okay, scout?" Echo asked, optics filled with concern and confusion.

"I'm fine," he chirped, faceplates turning red. When the femme gave him a smile, he shifted on the berth and looked away. Echo looked at Ratchet with a smirk, getting the same reaction from the medic. Bumblebee looked up and down in embarrassment, hoping his cooling fans didn't turn on from his thoughts. _Stop thinking about messing around with Echo!_ The scout felt a pain in both his spark and his interface. _Curse my being a young, maturing mech!_ The two other Autobots didn't notice Bumblebee's "problem". _I hope she leaves before my crotch piece falls off!_ "Alright," Echo said while she walked towards Bumblebee, flicking her tail subconsciously, "We'll just need to start walking around for a little bit at a time until you regain your full strength." The yellow mech nodded, not looking at the femme. She put the data pad down stood in front of him. When Bumblebee didn't respond, Echo crossed her servos, "Mech, it would be easier if you were standing on your feet."

Chirping an apology, Bumblebee stood up and looked from side to side, "Sorry." Echo couldn't help but smile and held her servo out in a bent manner. "Just hold onto my arm and we'll start taking steps." The mech did as he was told and placed his hands onto Echo's arms. She refused to flinch when she felt how hot the mech was. "Are you feeling better?" she asked, bringing the back of her hand to his forehead. "I checked him for sickness, and he just had an upset tank," Ratchet said over his shoulder. Echo frowned and shrugged the question off. "Okay, so move any foot forwards." Slowly, Bee lifted his right leg and gradually pushed it forward, frowning from pain. Backing up, the femme placed her free servo over the mech's, reassuring him with a smile. "Good," she exhaled with excitement, "Now the other foot."

Bumblebee moved his left foot and stumbled a bit, but gripped onto Echo's arm for support. "Oops, sorry," he buzzed. "Don't be," the femme waved it off, though annoyed at him being so nice to her. Cycles went by as the two kept walking. Eventually, they ran out of room. Echo accidentally back up into a wall. "Eh, one more step," Echo said with a shrug. Bumblebee stared at her, not knowing what to do, as the two were less than a few feet apart. With an irritated look from Echo, the yellow scout stepped forward, ending up pressing against the femme with their servos in between them. Bumblebee looked into her optics, which were almost at the same level as his, only slightly lower. Almost tempted to kiss his faceplate, Echo pulled away with a small smile. "You did good," she looked away and her lip plates formed a thin line, "Now let's walk back." Keeping his hurt emotions inside, the mech turned around and placed his hands back on Echo.

Both bots made their way back towards the berth. When they finally reached it, Echo guided Bumblebee onto the bed, sitting next to him. "Um, Bee?" the scout looked at the femme, his thoughts spinning around in his processor. _She asked me to take another step…_ "Can I have my arm back?" she asked, pulling the mech's hands off her servo. "Oh, sorry," he bleeped, turning scarlet. The femme stood up and walked past Bumblebee, her tail accidentally brushing up against his legs. The male Autobot shivered from the pleasure of contact. _Don't grab her!_ Bumblebee fought the urge to pull the femme onto the berth with him into a fit of hot kisses. _I might be a virgin, but that doesn't mean I don't have instinct_.

Echo felt a weird feeling in her spark. _Is that…lust?_ Shaking her helm, the femme walked over to Ratchet and grabbed the medical record to log Bumblebee's progress. Echo shuddered as a wave of pleasure washed over her. Luckily, neither of the two mechs in the room noticed. _What the frag?_ "Ratch," the medic turned to Echo. She whispered something into his audio receptors. Glaring at the femme and then Bumblebee, Ratchet reached underneath his work table and pulled out a dark silver data pad. The doctor whispered something to Echo that Bumblebee didn't hear. The yellow bot returned to his thoughts. _If you mess this up, there's no chance that she will go with you and Optimus._ _Though, this would help tell if there's anything between Echo and I_. Bumblebee felt his metal heating up. _Oh no! My cooling fans!_ The mech felt a click and knew he was in for a whole lot of embarrassment.

"Okay," Echo said, saving the mech. "I'm going to come back in a few mega-cycles." The femme walked out of the medbay. The form of her femme body and her twitching tail set Bumblebee's cooling fans on. Ratchet shook his helm and grumbled. "Good thing she left before she could hear that," he said, readjusting his data pad collection. "I would have been the one who was embarrassed to the Pit," Bumblebee sighed. _Phew!_

"You should have seen the data pad she just borrowed from me," Ratchet rolled his optics at the young mech and continued his word. Bumblebee gulped and buzzed. _Oh, Primus help me!_

**A/N: Double post again today :) The chapters are going to get more and more ****_steamy. _****Thanks for reading! -Echobee**


	14. Bumblebee Needs You

**Chapter 13: Bumblebee Needs You**

Months after Echo's first session helping Bumblebee walk, he is able to walk down the hallways with Echo and grab energon from the mess. The only problem he faced now was being able to fight again. The medic and Echo made a deal that once the scout was able to stand on his own and walk longer distances, Ratchet would have Bumblebee go to the washroom by himself. Until then, the femme had to help him clean up. Echo was regretting this day. The day she had to spend an intimate moment with the scout. "Alright, go on," Ratchet shooed the two out of the medbay, Bumblebee taking his time walking so he doesn't fall over. "Ratchet, he can walk there already," Echo argued, not wanting to place her hands anywhere on the yellow mech. "Yes, but does he have enough strength to clean out his own gears?" Ratchet crossed his servos and glared at the femme, "That takes a lot of energy that Bumblebee does not have at the moment."

"Just get another nurse to help if she doesn't want to," Bumblebee buzzed, hurt. "No," Ratchet handed Echo a bottle of lubricant and a brush. The two young Autobots sighed and walked out of the medbay. The whole journey to the washroom was silent. Fortunate for the two, no Autobots seemed to give them any looks or suspect anything. Once the two reached the washrooms, they searched all of the stalls for occupants. There were no other bots in the room, so Echo found a room with showerheads and a few benches so Bumblebee could sit down. She set the bottle and brush on a bench and walked over to the door and locked it so if someone wanted to shower, they would have to choose another room. Bumblebee sat down, his faceplates a deep red, his cooling fans threatening to turn on. _Let's get this over with_.

The femme turned on the showerhead over Bumblebee, the liquid flowing down his bright yellow body. The sound of water hitting his body muffled out the sounds of his cooling fans. _Thank the AllSpark_. Water splashed onto the femme's ears and she flinched. Turning away, she shook the water off, spark beating faster. "What's wrong?" the scout asked, deciding to speak through this. "I hate water," Echo mumbled, her faceplates heating up. Bumblebee buzzed in understanding. "It's not going to hurt you," he soothed. Echo nodded and sat down on the bench, grabbing the bottle of lubricant. "I know, I was just having a," Echo paused, opening the bottle. "Flashback?" Bumblebee chirped. Feeling a ping of happiness in her spark, Echo smiled. "Yeah," she scooted closer to the mech, allowing the water to flow onto her, though she flinched every now and then.

The femme leaned back and poured a glob of lubricant onto her hand. "Uh, could you turn around?" Echo asked, needing to apply the substance onto Bumblebee's back. The scout complied and lifted a leg over the bench, making himself parallel to Echo. The fembot spread the lubricant over his backplates, reaching underneath his armor so it seeped into his creaking joints. As Echo worked on his back, grim and filth left Bumblebee's body and flowed down into the drain in the floor. "Wow, I really need a shower," the yellow mech chirped with laughter and lowered his head as Echo worked up towards his neck. He moaned as the joints and cables in his back loosened. "Enjoying this, scout?" Echo laughed, trying not to enjoy it herself. "Maybe," Bumblebee said quickly in embarrassment. "I don't think I need the brush," Echo said, using her hands to remove gunk from his armor from the battle of Tyger Pax. Water dripped off Bumblebee's doorwings, landing on Echo's legs and arms. The wings would flutter ever so lightly whenever the femme stuck her hands inside the mech's armor.

Echo looked down at Bumblebee's aft, tempted. Her ears flattened and she shook her helm. "Back is done," she announced, causing the mech to panic on the inside. _What is she going to do to my front?_

The fembot watched as his doorwings tensed up and clamped together. "Don't panic, scout," she chuckled, standing up when Bumblebee didn't move. She sat in front of him with the bottle. Bumblebee looked away from her and placed his servos on his knees. The femme sighed and rolled her optics. Echo squeezed another glob onto her hand and stopped. "Wait, is the tense feeling in your neck cables or under your," the femme pointed towards his chest, which was puffed out more than usual. Bumblebee didn't look back, but analyzed his position.

_Frag! I have my legs spread wide open, my chest is puffing, and I have a femme spreading lubricant on me while we're in the washroom_. "Both," the mech mentally slapped himself, not wanting to get more intimate than they already are. Echo nodded and placed her hands on Bumblebee's neck, massaging the cables in his neck. Bee offlined his optics and refused to moan in pleasure.

Echo felt a weird feeling in her spark again. She had read the data pad she borrowed from Ratchet. Usually, only foreign feelings came from one's sparkmate. Echo was not bonded, so she became more and more confused as the feelings grew stronger. _Denial, holding back, lust, and pleasure? What the hell is going on?_

After a few cycles, most of the scout's joints and cables in his neck were in place and no longer tense and aching. "What hurts in your chest?" Echo asked, grabbing for the bottle once more. "Uh," Bumblebee beeped, looking up at the femme. _Say something!_ He placed a servo under his bold chest above his abdomen. Echo nodded and placed her hands where Bumblebee's were. "Tense?" she asked, feeling the mech flinch at her gentle touch.

"A bit," he said, watching as the fembot worked around the yellow and black pieces of armor, kneading the cables underneath. On the inside, he smiled, though he gazed at Echo with the same feelings she felt in her spark. When she felt him staring at her and looked up, Bumblebee shied away, pretending he wasn't admiring her. _I wish you would stop looking at me, mech_.

As if the scout had heard her thoughts, he turned red and looked down in rejection as she went back to her work. _She probably hates me for liking her_. Echo reached up and turned the showerhead off. "Okay, you're good to go," she stood up and shook the water off of her body. The yellow mech watched her run her hands down her frame, wiping the liquid away. _Sigh, her curves…if only I wasn't so innocent when it came to femmes. _

"Alright, let's go," Echo turned to Bumblebee and placed a hand on his shoulder as he stood up. He gripped onto the femme's servo and shoulder for support, lifting his leg over the bench. Echo grabbed the brush and the bottle, which was now empty. The femme then attempted to unlock the door, but the leftover lubricant on her hands made it difficult. Bumblebee reached around her, brushing his servo against the side of her abdomen. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Thank you," Echo said, turning to give the mech a warm smile.

Bumblebee smiled with his eyes, though still portraying a nervous sparkling. The two walked into the main set of showers, which were still empty.

As they made their way through the halls, Autobots were now giving the two weird looks, seeing Bumblebee now spotless, both bots wet with a bottle of lubricant and a brush. Echo made eye contact with a white, green, and blue mech. _Sharpeye_. He smirked and winked at her, patting Bumblebee on the back. The yellow mech turned red from the attention. Even after all of the fame he had gained over the years for his skills, he wasn't used to it.

Echo heard a faint whisper as a mech and femme walked past them, "I bet they were in the washroom together." The mech turned to his femme friend and smirked, "You think they're bonded?" The two bots laughed. Luckily, Bumblebee hadn't heard the comment. Echo's ears flattened and she growled in the back of her throat. The yellow mech frowned when he felt a sharp bounce of irritation and regret in his spark. _The frag was that?_

Ratchet sneered to himself when he heard the two Autobots walking in. "See, I told you he needed help," he gestured towards Bumblebee, who was walking slow from exhaustion. "He could have done it himself, Ratch," Echo said between gritted teeth. The seething femme replayed the comments of every mech and femme in her head. The "nurse" walked over and logged more of Bumblebee's progress. "Well, he's going back to his own room tomorrow, so he'll be closer anyway," Echo stated, activating the data pad. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't still help," Ratch glared at Echo's impoliteness. When she raised an optic ridge at his expression, the medic nodded his head towards the scout sitting on a berth. He gave her a look of "you better quit being so rigid before the poor kid cries". The femme cursed herself for being so rude.

Echo then felt a strong wave of rejection wash over her. To test something, she faced away from Bumblebee and flicked her tail, which caught his attention. While typing on the data pad, she cocked a hip out and placed a servo on it. Within moments, she felt lust and desire flutter in her spark. The femme dropped the data pad and ran out of the medbay. Ratchet turned around and frowned, grumbling to himself about throwing a wrench at her head.

"What was that about?" Bumblebee chirped, looking in the direction the femme ran off in. "What did you do?" Ratchet asked, picking up the fallen data pad. Bumblebee held up his servos in defense, "Nothing!" The medic glared at him with disbelief. "Okay, I looked at her while she rinsed off," the yellow mech admitted, "but she didn't say anything before, so why now?" Ratchet was still glaring at the young Autobot. "Did you touch her?" he growled, grabbing a wrench from his work station. The scout's doorwings lowered in frustration and anger while his brow furrowed in the same way. "No, I would never even think about it," Bumblebee buzzed and chirped loudly, "Plus, I wouldn't even know what to do."

"Virgin mechs," the medic mumbled to himself, rolling his optics. "It's hard enough being an inexperienced mech, but adding a smoking hot femme and a washroom date doesn't help, Ratch," Bumblebee glared. "If you are so resentful to the idea of the two of us doing things, why do you keep pushing us together?" the scout pleaded for an answer with his hurt eyes. "Echo needs someone to take care of her," Ratchet said softly after a few moments. "When her mother died, she became cold and distant. She met a mech once, but he's gone now, and now she doesn't have anyone."

Bumblebee stared in shock. "It's obvious that she doesn't want me to help," he said after slumping his shoulders, placing his hands on his knees. "Then make her want you," Ratchet narrowed his optics at his own words. "I don't know how," Bumblebee bleeped, "she hates it when I look at her, and frowns if I admit to it." Ratchet rolled his optics and crossed his servos, putting his wrench down. "It'll take time," he said, "I can talk to her if you wish." The scout shook his helm. "No, I'll just figure out a way to get her attention." The old medic laughed and shook his head. "Bumblebee, you already have her attention, I can assure you," the yellow mech's optics widened and he rubbed a hand over his face before leaning in Ratchet's direction. "You heard me right," the medic smirked at the young one's shock, "Echo has been keeping an eye on you. An interested eye. Just don't blow it." He winked at Bumblebee and returned to his work. Bumblebee blinked few times and then tilted his helm as he thought. _Is she really interested in me? _

Echo ran down the hallways towards Jetwing's room. Autobots stared at her in confusion as she zipped past them. The femme pounded on the door to Jetwing's room. When the doors opened, a tired orange and black femme stood there. "Jet," Echo said, not sure if she was excited or terrified, "This is really important. "Yeah," the femme woke up and invited Echo in. The two took a seat in a couple of chairs and faced each other. "Do you remember when I told you about that data pad I read?" Echo asked. "Which one?" Jetwing inquired as she stretched. "The one about sparkmates."

Jetwing paused and raised an optic ridge, "Yeah, why?" Echo smiled, "Well, I tested with something. I kind of flirted with Bumblebee, and all of a sudden I felt lust and desire wash into my spark. When I was annoyed with him in the washroom, he was staring at me with pain, rejection, lust, and pleasure, and I felt those feelings come to me after that." Jetwing frowned for a cycle as she processed the information. "Are you sure that you weren't just returning the feelings?" Echo shook her helm. "I don't feel that way. If I did, I know that I would end up hurting him." Her orange friend smirked and leaned back into her chair. "So, are you going to go with him to Earth, now?"

"No," Echo emphasized, "In fact, this makes me want to stay further away from him." Jetwing's optics widened and she sprung forward. "Oh, no," she glared at Echo, warning her, "don't hurt him any more than you have. Don't push him away."

"Jet, I have to," Echo's ears flattened in sorrow, "that way he will move on and find someone else." Jetwing shook her head and kept glaring at her friend, "And what about you? Will you be going off to find someone?" Echo looked down, realizing that she had not thought it all through. "You two are obviously connected by something," Jet continued, "Bumblebee needs you." _But I can't be there for him…_


	15. He Will Remember

**Chapter 14: He Will Remember**

_"__Echo," Bumblebee whispered, turning to his partner, "We have a squad of Cons headed our way." The black femme turned around, battlemask in play. She activated her gun and looked at Bumblebee. "I hope they said their prayers," she said as the two bots faced the direction the enemy was coming from, "'Cause we're going send them to their creators." Bumblebee chuckled and activated his guns. "Halt, Autobots!" a Vehicon said as he transformed into his bi-pedal form. "Do they really think we'll surrender?" the scout asked with a smirk. Echo aimed her weapon at the Con and fired. The purple mech yelled out as the shot hit his spark, offlining him. "Let's see if they learn," Echo answered as she and Bumblebee charged towards the Decepticons, shooting. _

Echo woke up to Ratchet shaking her shoulder. "C'mon," he said, pushing her up from her slumber on the edge of a berth, "You should be checking in on Bumblebee." Echo groaned and stood up, grabbing the data pad that sat in front of her. "I checked on him," she paused, glancing at the time, "an hour ago." She sighed. I never get recharge anymore. "Yeah, and you're a full time nurse," Ratchet placed his hands on his hips and gestured for the femme to get out of the medbay, "so GO!" The black Autobot held her hands up and walked out with the data pad. She made her way over to Bumblebee's quarters.

_"__Nice job," Bumblebee said as he and Echo stood among the fallen Cons. The femme shrugged and her mask disappeared, revealing a smirk. "I thought that was just practice," she acted coy. "Now that we're in the clear, I could use some practice," Bumblebee said as he stepped closer to Echo, kissing her gently on the lips. _

The femme shook her helm. _Stop thinking about the past!_ She closed her eyes and stopped walking. _As Bumblebee pulled away, Echo placed her hands on the mech's shoulders. Both of their optics fluttered closed as they went in for another kiss. Bumblebee placed his hands on each side of Echo's face as the two connected in a passionate kiss. Their glossas fought for dominance. Bumblebee won, and his glossa explored the femmes mouth, as Echo moaned, wrapping her servos around his neck. The mech pushed her back against a wall, pulling her legs up and around his hips. Then he- _"Ugh," Echo slammed up against a wall, rubbing her forehead. She crossed her servos and closed her optics.

"Echo," a voice called out to her. Please tell me I'm dying. "Echo?" An orange and black hand rested on her shoulder and shook her. Opening her coolant filled eyes, Echo saw Jetwing in front of her. "Oh, femme," her friend said, seeing how upset the black femme was. "Please don't tell me you're thinking about the past," Jetwing pleaded, setting her hand on Echo's elbow, looking at her with concern. "I haven't slept in days, Jet," the cat-like femme began to cry. Jetwing stopped her and pulled her from her spot. "You're coming with me," the orange and black femme almost dragged Echo through the halls.

The two eventually ended up outside someone's quarters. Banging on the door, Jetwing stepped back as Echo frowned at her. "Where are we?" the sniffling femme asked, raising an optic ridge. She got her answer when the tall red and blue form of Optimus Prime appeared in the open door. "Jetwing, Echo, is something wrong?" Prime asked, seeing the streaks down Echo's faceplates. "You two need to talk," Jetwing said as she shoved Echo into Optimus's quarters and stormed off. "What is in need of being discussed?" the prime rested a servo on Echo's shoulders. Echo glared at the large mech and rolled her eyes. "What do you think?" she asked, sarcastically. Prime's optics widened in shock and he stepped back. He then sighed with annoyance. "Bumblebee." The femme nodded and covered her face with her hands, fighting the tears. "Sit, now," the demanding voice of her Commander rang in her ears. Echo did as she was told and sat down in a large chair (clearly made for Optimus), while he sat in an equally-sized chair.

"Echo, believe me, I know how you feel," the prime said, "I lost my sparkmate eons ago. I had a hard time coping with it." Echo slowly raised her helm, optics wide. "Y-Y-You," she stuttered, not able to piece together a sentence. "I will never forget her," Prime continued, "and I know that I will always remember her." Echo smiled and let a tear grace her face.

"Echo, I know that you will never forget the old Bumblebee," Optimus gave her a reassuring smile, "and I know that one day, he will remember." The femme nodded and stood up. "Thank you," the mech stood up as well. "Anytime, young one."

Rolling her optics Echo laughed, chuffing. "If you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with your scout."

Bumblebee got up from his berth, hearing a knock at the door. He slowly made his way across the room, not having his full strength back. "Ratchet, if you're here to pesture me about E-" He stopped when he opened the door and saw Echo standing there. "Uh," he chirped, his optics forming perfect 'O's. Echo stood there, looking from side to side. "Oh, uh, come in," he gestured for the femme to enter. "Thanks," she smiled, stepping into his room. She looked around at possessions. "Sorry, I didn't know you were coming," the mech bleeped, turning red from the cluttered room. "No problem," Echo said, smiling at his collection of weapons and an object on a shelf. _Is that a toy? _

"Optimus and Ironhide gave me that when they found me," Bumblebee buzzed, turning back to his normal color. Echo began to feel panic in her spark.

_Bumblebee and Echo both carried a box into a room. "Finally, we get individual rooms," Echo sighed in relief. The mech and femme set the boxes on a berth on the side of the room. A picture fell out of the open box Echo was carrying. "What's this?" A small, yellow sparkling rested in the arms of her brother, Ironhide. The tiny mech was holding a metal, dark silver toy in the shape of a Cybertronian car. "That's me," Bumblebee smiled and starting pulling objects out of the boxes. "You're so small," Echo's optics analyzed the picture over and over again. The yellow mech almost made a remark about calling him small, but he stopped himself when he saw the femme adoring the picture. "I can't believe Ironhide never told me about you," she looked at the happy sapphire optics of her older half-brother. Bumblebee chuckled when he pulled a silver object out from the other box and handed it to Echo, "This is the same toy." Echo put the photo down and switched to flipping the car over and over in her hands, beaming. "You kept it all these years?" Echo asked, looking back at the photo. "I promised your brother I would keep it," Bumblebee answered, sitting on the berth in front of Echo. "You seem to make a lot of promises," Echo said with a smirk, and she set the car down as she cocked her hip out. The yellow mech placed his hands on Echo's hips, "And I intend to keep all of them." _

"Are you okay?" Bumblebee asked the femme. _She's been staring at the wall for cycles_. The scout gripped onto Echo's arm, shaking her. "Echo?" The female Autobot glanced around frantically and grabbed the mech's shoulder. "Just having a flashback again," she choked on her words. Bumblebee nodded and guided her towards the berth. "You should sit down," he beeped, sitting down next to her. "Sorry," Echo blinked her optics a few times and then smiled warmly towards the sweet and caring mech. "I'm good now, I guess the war has gotten to me." She cursed herself for saying those words. "It's pretty scary," the shy mech said, swaying his feet back and forth. "It is." Both bots looked up at each other, too many emotions to read at once. Immediately, they looked away.

"Did you need something?" Bumblebee chirped sweetly and decided to look at the femme again. "Yeah, I needed to check up on you," Echo said, turning to the mech, "Ratch wants me to keep recording your progress every day." On the inside, Bumblebee panicked. _Every day? In my room?_ "Okay, what do you need to check?" he stopped swinging his feet. "Pretty much just how you are doing with your legs, if you feel sick," the femme's lip plates formed a thin line, "stuff like that." _Phew!_ Bumblebee nodded and got off the berth. He paced around for a cycle before stopping. "I feel fine," he bleeped, "but I still can't run or do tricks or anything like that." Echo thumped her tail with impatience. "Ratchet told me it may take you a long time to be able to do that again." The yellow mech's doorwings lowered in sorrow. "That's bad," he buzzed a sigh. Echo frowned and narrowed her optics, "At least you're alive." She closed her optics and caved in to the temptation of the past.

_"__You know, you can keep it," the scout said to Echo, handing her the photo. "Oh, no I couldn't possibly," she exclaimed, sitting down next to him. "It's your half-brother in that picture, so why not?" Bumblebee asked with a smile. Echo rolled her optics and smirked, "Because that's your memory, your friendship to Ironhide in that photo." Bumblebee wrapped his servo around the femme's waist. "You're going back out there next week," he started, placing the picture in Echo's hands, "I want you to have something to remember me by." The black fembot reached over and kissed Bumblebee's face plate. "I'll keep it safe, I promise," she vowed, holding the frame to her spark. "Promises," the two said as they brought their servos to their chests. _

"Thanks to you and Ratch," Bumblebee bleeped, bringing Echo back from her memories. "Hopefully Optimus will be able to help." Echo's optics widened and she mentally beat herself. "So, when will I get to see you again?" the scout asked sweetly, standing in front of Echo. She looked up and exhaled deeply. "I told Optimus that I might join the two of you in a few stellar cycles," she answered, looking away from the mech so she couldn't see the reaction on his face. Bumblebee nodded and his face fell. "Might," he beeped softly, walking over towards his shelf of possessions. Echo slumped as she felt pain and regret in her spark. But something else was there. _What am I feeling now? Is that…longing…or is it disappointment?_ "The Exodus is going to happen any day now," Bumblebee buzzed, pulling the toy car off the shelf. He walked over to where Echo had her optics closed in thought. He opened her hands and placed the car in them. Echo's eyes shot open and looked down at her servos. She gasped when she saw the car, feeling the cold metal again. "I want you to keep this for me," Bumblebee sat down on the berth next to her, resting a servo on her shoulder. "Bumblebee, I can't. I-"

"Please," the scout pleaded with his big, bright blue eyes. "I won't be able to bring much with me to Earth, and I want that to stay in safe hands." Echo smiled and shook her helm. "I promise to keep it safe," she flipped the car over in her hands, remembering every detail. "And I'll give it back when I join you and Optimus on Earth." Bumblebee smiled with his eyes. _Yes, I got her to say that she is coming!_ Before either Autobots could say anything more, an alarm sounded throughout the base. "Oh no!" Echo cried out, standing up.

"Attention Autobots," Optimus Prime's voice sounded throughout the complex, "We are under attack by the Decepticon warship, the Nemesis. We need to evacuate now!"

**Ratchet-*Echo? Are you with Bumblebee?* **

The femme and the mech panicked. A bomb dropped outside the base and the ground shook, causing the two Autobots to fall to the floor. Screams of dozens of Autobots in the hallways mixed with the sounds of more missiles targeting the base. Bumblebee managed to get up onto his feet. He grasped onto his bed as the ground shook. Echo was still on the ground, holding onto the car. The femme placed the toy on her hip with a magnetic lock. She stood up and used her tail for balance when the floor underneath her violently shook.

Bumblebee reached out to her and she grabbed his servo. The two clung to the bed as the ceiling of Bumblebee's room began to crack. "We need to get out of here," the yellow mech said. Echo and Bumblebee slowly made their way towards the door. The control panel to the left of the door sparked and cracked from the quake. Echo used her sharp fingers to rip the panel out of the wall. Bumblebee attempted to ram the door down, with no luck. Wires and bolts popped out as the black femme fumbled with the panel, trying to get it to work again. Looking through the mess of cables, Echo found a blue wire and broke it.

The door to Bumblebee's room opened and the two Autobots scurried out and down the hallway as fast as they could as the base continued to tremble. Other Autobots ran by with supplies and other possessions. Echo looked down at the car on her hip. This is the only thing Bee has left.

**Ratchet-*Echo?! Can you hear me?* **

**Echo-*Yes, Bumblebee and I are making our way towards the medical bay* **

**Ratchet-*Don't! I'm not there and the whole place is collapsing* **

**Bumblebee-*What do we do, Ratch?* **

**Ratchet-*You two need to get over to the Command Center. Echo drop Bumblebee off there, and then make your way over to the hangar. Maximo is there waiting for you* **

Echo looked at Bumblebee with regret. The yellow mech nodded, understanding that this is the last time they'll be seeing each other. Right as they began moving again, the ceiling above them cracked and caved in. An Autobot at the end of the hallway was crushed underneath the pile. Bumblebee tugged on Echo's servo as the crack caved in over them. The scout and the femme jumped out of the way in time as metal and cables fell into a mound behind them. Echo stood up and helped Bumblebee do the same, but another round of bombs hit the base, and the two were knocked off their feet. Echo slammed into a wall yards away, while Bee landed on the ground with a loud thud. The mech's optics offlined and the femme got up and shook her helm.

The black fembot raced over to Bumblebee and dragged him down the hallway as the crack in the roof caved in again. Grunting, Echo was able to stop to wake the scout up. "C'mon we have to keep moving," she shouted as his blue optics onlined. "You need to leave me here," Bumblebee chirped back, pushing the femme down the hallway. "Never," she pulled him along with her. "We're sticking together," her optics filled with coolant. Bumblebee pleaded for her to keep moving and to leave him.

The bombs stopped and a faint clicking was heard. "What's that?" Echo stopped and looked around, smelling with her nasal sensors. _Bomb_. Her optics widened and she turned to Bumblebee, "RUN!" Nanokliks later, an explosion pierced the roof behind the two Autobots. Orange flames and black smoke surrounded Bumblebee and Echo. The femme screamed as she was launched far down the hallway. Bumblebee landed next to her in a heap. Echo's ears pounded as a ring deafened her senses. She slowly opened her eyes to see Bumblebee's dim optics looking at her.

Bumblebee reached his scratched and dented servo out to her. Echo scooted her arm across the ash and debris and grasped his hand. "Bumblebee," she whispered as her optics offlined. The yellow mech frowned and struggled onto his feet, wincing from the pain in his abdomen. He glanced down and saw energon dripping from his side. The scout looked down and saw a pipe sticking out from the ground, his energon dripping off of it. Ignoring the pain, he limped over to Echo and picked the unconscious femme up in his arms.

He made his way down the hallway slowly, optics dimming lighter, though narrowed with determination. The doors to the Command Center stood at the end of the hallway. Bumblebee looked behind in time to see the base collapsing. With the rest of his strength, he leapt into a run. He beeped in agony as excruciating pain filled his body as he ran. He felt cables stretch and joints creak and on the verge of breaking.

When he reached the entrance, he banged into it using his shoulders. The broken and cracked door buckled and Bumblebee stumbled into the room. Optimus was frantically pushing buttons on the data computer. "Optimus!" The prime turned around and gasped when he saw Echo's condition. "Where's Ratchet?" he bellowed, slamming a fist into the keyboard. "He didn't tell us," Bumblebee looked down at the sleeping femme. "I need to find Maximo," the scout said, although he wanted to take Echo with him.

**Optimus Prime-*Iodine Maximo?***

**Max-*Yes, sir?* **

**Optimus Prime-*We found Echo, she's here at the Command Center* **

**Max-*I'm on my way* **

Bumblebee gently knelt down and groaned as the pain from his legs caused coolant to fill his optics. "If Max doesn't get here in time," Bumblebee beeped, "We need to take her with us." Optimus shook his helm, "No. We don't have the supplies to take care of her. If her brother does not make it here, then we will find Ratchet."

Just then, a burned and dented Iodine Maximo burst into the Command Center. "Echo," his eyes widened when they fell upon his older sister. Bumblebee stood up and placed her in Max's arms. "Where are you going?" Bumblebee asked, adjusting her arms and looking at the car, which was, surprisingly, still attached to her hip. "We're leaving on my ship," Maximo said as Bumblebee rubbed Echo's faceplate with his thumb. "Take care of her," the yellow mech said, stepping away. "I will," Maximo nodded towards Optimus and Bumblebee, and then he turned and ran out of the control room towards the hangar.

"Bumblebee," Optimus rested a hand on the young Autobot's shoulder, "We must get to the Ark. The others are waiting for us." Bumblebee faced the prime and nodded, "Let's go." The two mechs ran around the computer and headed out another door. The hallway lights were dimming and sparking wires stuck out of the walls. Bumblebee ignored the searing pain and activated his guns, ready for a fight if need be. Optimus activated his comlink.

**Optimus Prime-*Silverwing, Bumblebee and I are on our way, start up the ship* **

**Silverwing-*Yes, sir!* **

Bumblebee rounded a corner and stopped when he saw that the door to the hangar containing the Ark was blocked by a mound of debris from the ceiling. Optimus looked around and saw another hallway to their right. "This way."

The path led to another entrance to the hangar, but when the two opened it, they noticed several Cons walking around the empty hangar. Bumblebee ducked and began shooting at the enemy, while Optimus activated his sword. Where is the ship? Once all of the Cons were taken care of, Bumblebee spun around, looking for the ship. "Prime, where's the Ark?"

"I do not know," Optimus narrowed his optics.

**Silverwing-*Prime?***

**Optimus Prime-*Silverwing, where is the ship?* **

**Silverwing-*Sorry, sir, but we had to relocate, the Cons got into the hangar bay* **

**Optimus Prime-*We know, but where are you now?* **

**Silverwing-*We flew the ship to the other hangar bay. We're picking up a few Autobots that weren't able to get their own transport* **

**Optimus Prime-*Good. We'll be there soon* **

Bumblebee turned and faced the open hangar bay doors. He looked out at the sky and beeped a gasp. "Optimus! It's the _Nemesis_!"

Iodine Maximo ran down the hallways, determined to reach his ship in time. When he sped into the hangar, he noticed _the Ark_ next to his ship. Silverwing was outside the ramp, waving in Autobots to escape. "Silverwing!" Max called out to his fellow soldier. The silver mech saw the femme in Iodine's arms and ran over. "What happened?" he asked, feeling Echo's forehead. "She was knocked out in the blast," Max shifted his sister in his arms, "She needs medical attention immediately." Silverwing looked down and sighed, "We haven't heard from any of the medical chiefs."

The green mech closed his optics and frowned. "I'll keep in contact with you and let you know if I hear from any medical staff," Maximo said as he began to walk towards his ship. "And I will do the same," Silverwing called and ran back to _the Ark_. Max set his sister down in the seat next to the pilot. He strapped her in and sat down in front of the controls. Hitting a button, the ramp from his ship retracted and the engines kicked on. "I'll make sure your promise to Bumblebee is kept," the green mech said to his sleeping sister.

Bombs exploded outside the base, shaking everything. Flames still licked the walls of the hangar bay as Optimus and Bumblebee finally arrived. Silverwing stood by the ramp as the scout and the prime ran over. "Sir, evacuation is now underway," Silverwing reported, following the two mechs as they entered the massive ship. Bumblebee turned to the silver mech, "Did Maximo ship leave safely?" Silverwing nodded and lead the two Autobots to the bridge.

Optimus looked down at the yellow and black mech, who looked down. "Bumblebee, you will see her again, one day," he rested a servo on the scout's helm in a fatherly way. Bumblebee looked up and smiled in his eyes at the mech who helped raise him. The prime looked forwards and narrowed his optics. _Echo, he will remember_.

**A/N: Thank you all for reading! Don't worry, the story is not finished. Until next time -Echobee**


	16. Update and Preview

_**Update: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I wanted to have that feel of a hiatus as the gap from Chapter 14 and 15 is over the span of a year. I almost have 15 done, so I'll be able to post it sometime this week. Thank you all for the support. Without further a do, here is a preview of the next chapter/section of the story: **_

"Echo, it's been a year, you need to let go."

"How can I forget the past?"

"We need to find our sister!"

"I regret leaving Bumblebee."

Back on Earth...

"Bumblebee, I've detected an Autobot signal."

"We are here...we are waiting."

_**I hope that got you pumped up for the new chapter :) Stay tuned for next week! -Echobee**_


	17. Broken Spark

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or its characters. I do own my OCs; Echo and Iodine Maximo.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 15: Broken Spark**

A gray and white ship flew through space, thrusters leaving behind blue trails. Inside the ship, a black and gray Cybertronian sat in the pilot's chair. The figure rubbed a thumb and forefinger over her chin. A dark blue and silver male Cybertronian walked up next to her and sat in the co-pilot's chair. He glanced at the object the female was staring at, a small, metal car. "Echo, it's been a year," he pleaded in the tongue of the ancient primes, "Can't you let it go?" The femme glared at the mech, baby blue optics narrowed. "How can I forget the past 100 years?" she asked, fanged teeth bared. "He's fine," the male said, leaning back in his seat, "I'm sure he and Optimus are doing okay on Earth." Echo looked away, growling. She stood up and grabbed the toy car, her black tail thumping against the chair. "I told them I would contact them," she stopped and bit her lip plate. The blue mech rolled his optics and placed his silver rimmed feet on the edge of the control panel, making himself comfortable.

Echo looked at her hands, which held the car. She was once an all-black Cybertronian, and now she had a black background with gray armor. Her optic shudders now had silver lashes, and her sensitive ears were rimmed with gray. Her body was deteriorating and has been slowly turning gray for the past year. A symbol in the shape of a 'B' was imprinted on the side of her right ear.

"I hope they are, Max," she said to the mech. He narrowed his optics and got up from his position. "Echo, I'm your brother and I would never wish this grief upon you. But we need to find our sister and find out why she joined the Cons," he said, placing a dark gray hand on her shoulder. The femme shrugged it off, coolant welling up in her optics. "Max, please leave me to regret my decision alone." The mech frowned and crossed his servos over his broad chest. "So you regret coming with me to find our lost sister?"

"No," she snapped, glaring at her brother, "I regret leaving Bumblebee as I did." Echo flicked her tail in anger and stormed off towards her quarters. Max stood there, staring at his older sister in disbelief. _It's been a year…_

* * *

In the year since the Exodus, Echo and her brother have travelled far and wide across the galaxy, searching for their sister, Bluespark. She was last seen on the _Nemesis_, reported having joined the Decepticons. Maximo was determined to find his younger sister and return her to the Autobot cause, or at least what was left of it. Thousands of Cybertronians fled the planet during the evacuation, and the two siblings haven't heard from any of them. Echo began to worry that the Ark may have been ambushed during its departure.

Unknown to the femme, the Ark was one of the few ships that had been able to leave. Optimus Prime led the Ark to multiple planets and colonies before setting course for his final destination; Earth. The prime and his scout, Bumblebee, took an escape pod headed for the inhabited planet. There, they met the US government, and Agent Fowler. Working with the humans, the two Autobots received an abandoned bunker outside of Jasper, Nevada.

* * *

"Bumblebee," Optimus Prime turned to his scout, "I've detected an Autobot signal." The yellow mech brightened up and bleeped with joy, _"Do you know who it is?"_ The large blue and red mech shook his helm. Bumblebee's expression fell slightly, but he remained positive. _"I'm sure it's someone we know." _

"I need you to scout the area while I keep watch on the bunker," Prime turned back to his computer and brought up the coordinates. He handed the smaller mech a scanner and sent him on his way. Bumblebee nodded and backflipped. Mid-air, his body transformed into a yellow and black sports car. Expelling exhaust, the scout drove out of the tunnel to his left and out of the base.

The warm air of the Nevada desert surrounded Bumblebee as he sped down the straight road. Canyon walls and boulders stuck up from the ground in random places. _This is going to be a long drive._ The mech glanced at the scanner currently sitting in his backseat, and remembered the coordinates. _If only our groundbridge was working._

Optimus returned to his work and activated a coded transmission. "To any Autobots currently seeking refuge, I am Optimus Prime. My team may be small, but we are strong. I invite you to join us on Earth. We fear that the Decepticons will target this planet and its inhabitants. We are here. We are waiting." With that, the great leader ended the message and sighed, hoping someone would join them. _Echo, we could use you now, more than ever._

"Echo! You better get over here," Max called from the cockpit of the ship. The femme burst from her room and ran down the hallways. "What's wrong?" she asked, out of breath. "Listen," her blue and silver brother responded, hitting a button on the control panel. The small data computer came to life and showed a transmission coming from a distant planet called Earth. The face of Optimus Prime appeared on the screen as the message played.

_"__To any Autobots currently seeking refuge, I am Optimus Prime. My team may be small, but we are strong. I-I invite…y-y-you t-to joi-n us on E-E-Earth…" _

"What's happening to the transmission?" Echo asked as the screen began to fizzle out.

_"__We-We-We f-f-f-fear that the D-Decepticons will target-"_ The signal died out and the screen went black. "Frag!" Max exclaimed, hitting the panel. "We need to get back there," Echo said, sitting down in the pilot's chair. She turned the engines on and plotted a course to Earth. "No, you told Prime you would contact him in a few years, not one," Max protested, deactivating the engines. "Max, he needs us," the gray and black femme shouted, starting up the ship once more. She pushed her brother into the co-pilots chair. "You can continue your search without me."

"We're supposed to stick together," Max frowned, "Father told us to." Echo sighed deeply and shook her helm, "Father is dead." Maximo glared at her, "How dare you."

"He dumped me off at the Cyber-Ninja Corps when I was only ten stellar cycles old," Echo began pushing buttons, and the ship began moving, "I'm not going to spend another ten looking for him."

"Sister, you knew him better than Blue or I," Max placed a servo on his sister's shoulder, "You are the only one who can find him." His older sister stared off in the moving space before turning to him, optics pleading. "Max, please," she looked down and closed her optic shudders. The blue mech exhaled and nodded. "Okay, but if I find him, you need to come back," her brother strapped in and activated the thrusters, making their trip shorter. Echo looked at him in shock, "What?"

"And Bluespark needs to come with us, too," Maximo said calmly. The gray and black femme next him shook her helm and inhaled deeply. "If the Cons are on Earth, I may be able to find her there," Echo finally said before returning to the scanners on the main control panel. "Good," the mech responded.

The two then remained in silence for several cycles before Max turned to his sister. "You want to go because there's a chance Bumblebee is still online," he said more as a statement, rather than a question. Echo nodded and continued looking forwards. "I told him I would come back," the femme vented. Her spark ached and shots of pain filled her frame. Echo didn't flinch, for the pain has become normal in the past few months. She was slowly dying, and so was Bumblebee.

The prime looked at the tunnel as the sound of a sports car rolled in. Behind him was what the humans called an ambulance. "Bumblebee, who is this?" Optimus asked with an optic ridge raised. The vehicle stopped and pipes hissed before it slowly split and transformed into a large red and white Cybertronian. "Ratchet?" Prime gasped as his medical officer stood before him.

"Optimus, it's good to see you again," the old bot walked over and shook his leader's hand. Bumblebee transformed and watched the two, placing the scanner over by a helpless medbay. Ratchet looked around the bunker and grumbled and nodded at random things. "Do you have a groundbridge up and running?" the medic asked. Bumblebee shook his helm, _"It's been offline for awhile." _

"Then we need to fix that," the medic walked over and saw a giant hole in the wall that resembled a bowl that was turned over, "This will do."

Optimus stepped forward with a sigh, "We don't have a lot of equipment or materials. The humans we work with limit our resources. We have yet to meet or receive a mechanic." Ratchet's brow furrowed and then his optics widened, "Are you two all that there is?" Bumblebee nodded sorrowfully. "Have you heard from anyone?" The medic sighed in disbelief.

Bumblebee looked away, his hope slowly draining. _Is she still online? Will she ever come here? I wish she was here…_

"Unfortunately, no," Optimus spoke up with determination, "But we will continue to protect this planet. No matter the costs. The humans cannot suffer because our race became so lost."

"I agree," Ratchet nodded his helm, "I'll begin working on a medbay and proper technology for our use." Bumblebee walked closer to his leader, _"Prime, may I go for a drive?"_ The red and blue mech gestured for the scout to leave, "Of course."

Once the young Autobot had transformed at left, the prime turned to his old friend. "How has he been?" Ratchet asked, as if he could read Optimus' mind. "Not well these past few weeks," he answered, crossing his servos, "Bumblebee has become more depressed. It's been a year, so I am in the dark as to why he would start feeling this way now."

"Echo must have offlined," Ratchet looked down after he spoke. "Why would you believe that?" Optimus raised an optic ridge and narrowed his vision. "Echo and Bumblebee are connected at some level. To what degree their bond is, I do not know. But when Echo came back, Bumblebee immediately improved," the medic narrowed his optics, shaking his head in disbelief, "Only a bonded pair could respond in such ways."

Prime exhaled and turned around, bringing a servo to his helm, "So, what you are saying, is that Bumblebee will continue to degrade until he eventually passes?" Sadly, Ratchet nodded and pounded a wall, "Unless we hear from her, he won't recover."

* * *

"You should try and contact him," Maximo appeared in the doorway of Echo's room. The femme sighed and looked at the mech, "Max, we're already on our way." Her brother glared at her and crossed his servos, "Yeah, but if you call them now, you might be able to see Bumblebee. Sister, you have been slowly passing ever since you left the mech."

"You wanted me to stay with you," Echo accused, holding her side, which was aching. "That was days ago, before I knew that you were dying," Max walked over to his sister and place a servo on her shoulder. "We need to contact them."

Echo looked around, making her decision.

"Outpost Omega One? Do you copy?"

Optimus stared in shock as a transmission popped up. _From an Autobot_. "We read you. I am Optimus Prime. This is Outpost Omega One. Identify yourself!" the prime shouted, receiving a visual communication. He sighed in relief when he saw a femme and a mech, both bearing Autobot insignias. "This is Echo and Iodine Maximo of the Elite Corps. Optimus? It's good to see you," the gray and black Autobot looked past Optimus, obviously searching for a familiar yellow bot. "We are on our way to Earth-"

The transmission began to fizzle out. Prime tried to boost the signal, but the audio cut out. "Echo?" He called out, still fumbling with the controls. The femme frowned and cut the transmission. Optimus stood there in joy, yet he still felt a pang in his spark as he thought of Bumblebee. _Echo, you better get here…and fast. _

**a/n: Back from the break! Now that the 'bots are on Earth and the war seems all but over, what will happen next? Will Echo get to Bumblebee in time? Or will they both offline…**

**Thank you for all of the reviews, they really help. **

**Yeah, sorry I have not updated this story in a long time, but I wanted to create the illusion of time passing as there is a major gap in between Ch 14 and 15. Now that we have crossed that bridge, this story will be updated more frequently. If you have any ideas as to how often I should post a new chapter, please send me PM or a review. **

**Thank you so much for reading! **

**-Echobee**


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